The Final Fantasy Wars
by DissidiaLord89
Summary: Karin and her friend Lorena are having an ordinary day, til they start seeing Final Fantasy characters from I thru XII, plus X-2, and end up involved with the war of Dissidia between Cosmos and Chaos. Contains OC snd a third crossover of KH in the end.
1. PreludePrologue

The Final Fantasy Wars

Prologue\Prelude

Poem title: Eternal Cycle (Fallacies) *Updated Version from the Original*

So many false hopes, So many false dreams.

Has our efforts been in naught? Why do we suffer? It matters not, only tortured souls know this route.

Everlasting fire, fueled by war; the cycle continues ever so, turning to madness.

Clashes of metal, sparks of rage; the cycle is everlasting, not ceasing to halt.

Why we fight..Is uncertain, only those that do know their reason of their own. Entering the battlefield, uncertain of one's fate, the chains will bind them forever more.

[I]

A warrior shrouded in light, clashes with darkness with a blade of pure light. The warrior shatters the chains of fate on a black hearted soul, hoping to cease the conflict under a harmonious light.

"Light....Give Me Stregnth"..."Come...I Shall Give My All"---Warrior Of Light (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"Combat...Is Our Only Path"..."There Is No Escape From The Cycle Of Battle"---Garland (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[II]

A rebel armed with seven tools of combat, fueled with vegence over the downfall of his home. He confronts and overtakes a lord of a demonic empire, armed with devils and wind. Greed and power strengthens the demon king, even his armor reveals it all.

"He Uses Words Only As Tools To Decieve"..."Fighting Without Convictions Means Nothing"---Firion (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"I 'll Free You From This Fantasy"..."Can You Bear Such Heavy Sins?"---Emperor Mateus (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[III]

Youth of magic travels into a realm of clouded veil, armed with a blade of accurate speed and intellect.

Confronting a blackened devil of the Void, devoting its task to the Void alone. Surrounded in a realm of darkness, the conflict begins, only ceasing with only one victor.

"Being Small Has Its Advantages"..."You'll Never Extinguish Our Hopes!"---Onion Knight (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"We Lust...To Destroy!"..."Darkness Embraces Us"---Cloud of Darkness (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[IV]

Tie of brotherhood is always strong, even to a lunar knight and paladin on opposite ends of battle.

Armed with dark and light, the warrior combats his kin of the shadows for show of strength and approval, hoping for recognition of his sibling. He hopes for one day to be by his sibling's side, as brothers side by side.

"My Blade Will Lead Me To The Light"..."Your Light Will Grow Stronger"---Cecil Harvey (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"What Do You Seek In This Fight?"..."Your Care-free Ways End Here"---Golbez (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[V]

A gentle spirit travels the wind with his feathered friend. Riding the winds, he soon is confronted with the armor warrior of the Void. Tired of running, he chooses to fight as the victorious winds blow his way to victory from the rift's grasp to the Void.

"The Wind Is Calling Me"..."The World...Will Always Be Reborn"---Bartz Klauser (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"All Shall Return To The Void"..."Follow Me To Light's End"---Exdeath (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[VI]

Troubled and fearful of her own magical potential, she travels to find answers and new strength of couarge and dreams.

She tries to escape the destruction's maw, hoping to find a way to summon her courage to enter the battlefield, but only she knew that it was time to use that summoned stregnth for battle and survival.

"I Guess There's No Avoiding This"..."I Don't Want It To End Here"---Terra Branford (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"I Hate Guys Like You The Most"..."One Of Us Is Not Serious Enough"---Kefka Palazzo (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[VII]

A wandering warrior enters the shadows of his past, encountering the wicked darkness within his heart.

As long as he lives, the struggle between him and a former hero with a black feathered wing will continue, into infinity, as told by fate.

"Come What May...I'm Ready"..."Don't Think...Just Fight"---Cloud Strife (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"Everything Returns To The Planet"..."I...Will Never Be A Memory"---Sephiroth (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[VIII]

Lonliness is this soldier's way of passage through the upcoming battlefields.

Alone in the battlefield, but believing he's never alone in solitude, he fights a sorceress of ancients that uses time and space; only one will stand still in the end.

"All It Takes Is a Step Forward"..."Never Let Go Of Your Prey"---Squall Leonhart (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"Is A Momentary Gleam All You Need?"..."Time...Reigns Over All"---Ultimecia (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[IX]

An energetic theif under a blue moon, a sadistic performer under a red moon, brothers in blood, but pure opposites.

Made by the same creator, but share different goals. Jealousy and betrayal fuels the elder brother, because of the other's youth and his own mortality.

"I Just Might Have A Chance"..."Let's Settle This Once And For All"---Zidane Tribal (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"Let Me Play Your Melody"..."The Moon Steals Light To Shine Brighter"---Kuja (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

[X]

Bound to a ruin as spirits; two ace Blitzball players sqwabble at one another, tearing at eachothers' throats.

One was an elder, the other a youth; playing for the same team.

The youth fights to prove his strength, seeking the elder's approval from the long years of trying and abuse.

"What Will You Do...When Everything's Gone?"..."Your The Final Chapter..In My Story"---Tidus (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"You'd Make A Descent Guardian"..."I Got No Such Thing As Limits"---Jecht (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

{DISSIDIA}

The world has been torn assunder, ravaged by the war of the goddess and god.

"Light...Will Never Purge Darkness"..."Your Sins Will Haunt You Forever"---Chaos (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

"There Is A Difference Between Bravery And Recklesness"..."Tell Me Your Dream And The Future You Wish For...In Your Heart"---Cosmos (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

If it escalates....The wrym will appear, clearing the field, continuing the eternal cycle.

As with all things, all must return to where it began, and where it will soon end......

Back to the beginning...

Into nothing at all...

A sea of darkness, engulfing all.

Back to the eternal Void, into the beginning of the futile end of all.

The war starts again, now into two realms. The new tactic is revealed at last.

The key of Salvation...Seekers all seek, only the key can end the war.

The enemy is on the move to destroy the tool of salvation, preventing the heroes from achieving the possible.

The truth...And time is at hand...It begins now..

Followed by dreams to a ordinary soul, the soul will know the truth of her true roots...As Dissidia's last hope for a goddess.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Normal Day Turned Abnormal**

_**'Dreams seem to haunt a feeble wanderer, clinging to ones consciousness like a vivid fantasy.**_

_**A dream of a war that has waged for eons, once brought to peace, but soon to start again. A dream of a fictional love tied by fate, only the key will know by chance.**_

_**The vision needs no sleep...**_

_**It continues to cling to the wanderer of ones mind...**_

_**It starts...The war of Light and Darkness...It begins now, in a distant realm.**_**'**

The world was highlighted with a white-pure based scenery, the ground was of water, but only sole deep by feet. Ten warriors march through to the other side, which looked like a mountain summit with another set of warriors of the opposite side of battle. One appeared as a knight, cladded in armor. The second was armed with multiple weapons, including a bow, lance, and sword. The third and fourth were something like a knight, but differed in size. The fifth rode on a yellow ostrich-like bird, called a 'Chocobo' was armed with only a sword, prepared to fight.

The sixth was a woman wearing bright colored clothes. She was armed with two dagger-like swords, with the second still in its sheath. The seventh was a swordsman with a large sized bladed as big as he, able to weild it with only one arm. The eighth was another swordsman with a more advanced sword. It was part sword, part gun, dubbed a 'Gunblade'. The ninth was a 16 year old with a tail, armed with two dagger-like swords in each hand. The last of the group was armed with a different kind of sword, whose blade appears to be made from water.

More joined the group of ten, making a vast amount to combat the opposition. The other group was also increasing by the same amount as the others, but of a different polarity. The first, fourth, and fifth appeared as armoured knights, but of different agendas. The second was a ruler, armored in gold and armed with only a rod-like demonic scepter. The third was an evil woman of the void, her only weapons are the vine-like creatures that are attached to her form. The sixth was like a circus clown, but more demented and twisted in nature. The seventh was a long, silver haired man armed with a over two foot kantana, dressed in pure darkness of black.

The eighth was a witch dressed in a ballroom dress, with a capability to control time at will. The ninth was a silver haired man that claims he was born for the stage, ready for destruction as it sounds like glorious music to his ears. The last was a bloodthirsty warrior armed with a big sword, capable to wield it with only one arm. A battle was about to break out and a lone bystander to the side was watching it all. A young adolescent of twenty years of age stood in one spot. Her long, dark orange hair flowed to the wind's blow, acting as a flag. Her dark, bright blue eyes watched the scene with vigil. She wore a tank top long night shirt and baggy night pants in a dark purple color.

In a flash of light, she is part of the battle, armored and armed for the upcoming battle. She tenses up, afraid of the vast numbers ahead. Fear held onto her, but the fourth of the group turned to her, speaking with words of wisdom. 'Don't be afraid...We will make it...Have faith in your strength,' he spoke. She relaxed a bit, but still tension held onto her. 'As long the winds of victory is blowing our way...We'll make it through..I know we will,' the man on the Chocobo said, facing the girl with a smile. She nodded. The first of the group acted as a leader, then spoke to her, 'The light will guide us to victory, protecting us on our journey through battle.'

She faced the upcoming battle, still tense for what is about to happen. The second of the group faced her, face to face, and said, 'We will make it...Don't be afraid of the calling of fate..' She nodded, then heard the voice of the last of the group shout out, 'Here they come!'. The multi-weaponed warrior turned to her once more, then said, 'Ready?' She didn't had a choice, she was now involved into the heat of battle. 'Yes..' she said.

The truth was...It was all a dream.

At the sound of an alarm clock, a twenty year old girl stirs in her bed of purple and black sheets underneath a dark purple cover. A arm reaches out to lightly whack the alarm clock with her palm. It immediately ceases making noises and she emerges from underneath her blanket, wearing a dark purple night tank top and baggy pants.

'Phew...What kind of dream was that?' she thought. She immediately gets up from her bed, going to a desk with a device and a type of disc cartridge near it in its holder. The device was a 'PSP' (Playstation Portable) and right next to it was a game disc titled 'Dissidia: Final Fantasy'.

Video games was the way of life for her, playing the Final Fantasy games one thru ten, plus ten's sequel X-2. She beated them all, including some of the other games she had on different game systems on her stand near the television. 'It was all a dream...But yet..It felt real..' she thought, "Man...I gotta cut down on Dissidia for a while," she then said out loud to herself. As if on cue, a older female voice then calls out, "Karin! Breakfast is ready! Come and get it before it gets cold!" Karin nods, then heads out to the kitchen for breakfast, but first changes attire. Now fully dressed, she wore a dark navy blue short sleeved shirt and a jean materialed miniskirt with black tights underneath.

Her cellphone was in the right pocket of the skirt, always on in case someone she knew called. Her mother was at the stove making scrambled eggs and sasuage for the two of them. It made her and both her mother sad that 'Dad' couldn't join them. At the age of fifteen, Karin's father died from an unknown disease, a disease that even no doctor could figure out. It was so new to the medical professions; they tried to save him, but the treatments wasn't effective, it had no effect. He died three to five days later. For three years her and her mother adjusted for the better. The way the doctors described the disease, it reminded her of that Final Fantasy movie she had on DVD, but she knew it wasn't real, it was fictional only in the movie.

Karin sat quietly in her chair in empathy, think about her father every minute. He was a successful businessman for the journal industry called 'The Infamous Flamingo', finding many stories and rumors of all sorts of things. The disease started to show up since that one day he heard of a rumor of a man with silver hair having one black feathered wing. He managed to meet this man with one wing, but soon got sick a day later. Karin thought about a Final Fantasy character that had that description, but she knew it wasn't real, just a figment of her and others' imagination.

"Remember the saying I've always been saying? 'Nobody lives forever' " said Karin's mom, repeating her saying that reminded them of human mortality.

"I know...But it was too soon for dad to go like that," Karin replied, "But we're human...We don't have immortality, or anything to keep us alive forever. All we have is our own mortality." Her mother sat next to her, then said, "I know its been a rough three years since he passed away, but we have to move on, sweetheart...Its how the world works these days."

"Yeah...Its always been that way since the creation of the planet," Karin stated, eating her food and drinking a glass of Pepsi right next to her mother, who drank a glass of Mountain Dew. She sensed something was bothering her only daughter, and then began to ask questions like any parent would with their children.

"Sweetie...Something's bothering you...What is it?" asked Karin's mom. "Hmm..Its just a dream," Karin stated, "Its this dream I had last night...It felt so real, but its just a silly dream."

"What was it about?" her mother asked specifically. Karin didn't want to speak of it, but knew it would be better to tell her than hold it back.

"Its like that game on my PSP, in Dissidia...I was watching a kind of battle or war about to begin between two groups, but in a flash of light, I was armored and ready for battle, assisting one of the groups into the battlefield. Its weird...Like I was part of the fight.." said Karin.

"You've been up playing that game again, haven't you?" asked her mother, "I understand you have friends and a life ahead of you, but can you at least be in the world of reality? I understand your trying to cope with your father's death, but not like this."

"I'm just trying to escape to my world...A world where no one dies and everything is alright," answered her daughter, taking a sip of her drink, then takes a bite of the scrambled eggs, "But I'll be fine...It only takes time--" Then Karin's cellphone goes off, playing the ring-tone of 'Zanarkand' from Final Fantasy X. She immediately takes the phone out and on the caller ID of the phone, it read out 'Lorena'.

"Hang on...I gotta take this," Karin said, flipping the phone open and presses the green phone image button on the keypad of her phone and speaks into the microphone portion of it, "Hello, this is Karin."

The voice was on the other side, then said, "Hey Kar...Its me, Lorena, how's it going?" "Nothing much, just eating breakfast.."

"Oh...And still playing those games? Gesh, your a huge gamer! I'm not like that, but still its nice to play a game once in awhile, but your like playing those things for hours! Since its the weekends, I thought I'd call and ask if you want to have lunch with me at Thunderbird Mall that just opened up a few weeks ago," said Lorena. This was a possibility that Karin couldn't resist, she knew she needed to cut down a bit on her gaming binges and get back to reality, just as her mother told her.

"When do you want to go?" asked Karin. "How about near eleven fifteen? Its only ten twenty," answered Lorena.

"Okay! I'll meet you there, then...Bye," said Karin. "Bye," answered Lorena and the conversation ended. Karin's mother overheard the conversation and said, "I'm glad your cutting down on your video games..I worry about you alot,"

"I need to, anyway. At near eleven, I'm going to head at the Thunderbird mall and have lunch with Lorena. I better snap out of it and get back to reality, right?" said Karin.

"That's right...Go ahead, its your life. Your growing up so fast that I wish you could be a child forever, but I can't...This is your life and you can do what you need to do with it," said Karin's mom, "Go ahead...Its alright." The two hug each other, then Karin went back to her room after breakfast to fix her long, dark orange hair for the lunch meeting with her best friend. She and Lorena knew each other since middle school. Gamers by heart, but Lorena isn't like Karin in the gaming world; playing video games for hours upon hours at a time. When she heard about Karin's father's death, Lorena was the first to act, comforting Karin during the time of his passing. Karin walks to her silver colored SUV and hopes into the driver's seat.

'Gotta get back to the real world...I better forget that dream for a bit til I get there...I think Lorena should hear about this,' she thought as she closed the door. She then places her driver's licence in the glove compartment and placed her key into the ignition. As soon as the engine reeves to life, she place a CD into the CD player of a soundtrack of a particular Final Fantasy game she has: Dissidia: Final Fantasy.

"There we go...Let's get there.." Karin said to herself. The music played as she carefully looked backwards to back up onto the road off the parkway of the house.

Now in the road, she drives to Thunderbird Mall, going up the streetway of 'Parkway' and 'Cancuna'. As she drove through the road, a particular song plays on the soundtrack that she knew the lyrics to like on the back of her hand. It was called "The Messeger" by 'Your Favorite Enemies'. 'The messenger is standing at the gate...Ready to let go..Ready for the crush...' the song spoke through the lyrics, as Karin sang along. 'Kneeling journey, dressed in a cloak of shadows...The hunting's grim for the innocent eyes...Communion's spray is a cup of sorrows...The fate is callers for the humbling cries...' The music continues on as she continues to drive to her favorite mall on a lunch date with her best friend.

The beat of the song intensified when it almost was over, and Karin was almost arriving at her destination. 'The spirit is over and down...Waiting for me to hit the floor...Blooming white sky of a voice said welcome tonight...Tonight's flame is the red crown, red crown around your door...Time is scattering the seeds of the morning daylight...' The song ends, allowing her enough time to press the 'Stop' button. Afterwards, she then shuts the car off and opens the car door, getting out from inside the vehicle with her car keys in hand. 'Finally...I made it...' Karin thought in relief. She then made her way to the main entrance of the mall through the parking lot, careful to make sure that she didn't get hit by any car.

Inside the busy mall corridors, Karin makes her way to the food court, the clapping and clicking of her heeled sandals echoed as she walked down the corridor til she sees where the food court was from three feet away. In the food court, a girl about two years older than Karin stood near a seated table area near the corner waiting for someone. She had neck length cut black hair with bright, dark blue stripped highlights throughout her hair. She had hazel colored eyes and a light blush on her peach colored skin in her cheeks. She wore a top, strapless shirt of the color red with a winged heart in the middle of the shirt and blue colored jean-made pants with a connective chain belt around her waist in gold.

Small, chain-like segments of the larger connective segements' end dangled on the right side of her waist down the right side of her hips. Five to six thin small bracelets of orange and yellow were worn around her wrists, dangling from her thin wrists as she moved them, swaying left and right in the movement. She also wore sneakers with black stripes on the yellow colored show, representing the colors of 'biohazard'. She looked left, then right; then thought, 'Where is she? I hope she makes it alright?'. Just when she looked to her right, she spots Karin walking towards the area, looking for someone as well as she.

"Hey! Over here!" the girl called out to Karin. Karin looks towards the girl and recognizes her, jogging towards her.

"Lorena...I found you...Did I get here late?" Karin asked. "By a mere two minutes, but its okay..Better late than never, right?" asked Lorena.

"Yeah..I guess that's true," replied Karin. They each get their food from a specific place: Lorena went to Maid-Rite while Karin went to McDonald's. They returned to the table, eating and chatting away like teenage girls before reaching their twenties.

"So how's life? Still trying to adjust from your father's death?" asked Lorena, taking a bite of her chicken strip.

"Yeah...We manage, but something strange happened to me last night," answered Karin. "What? Did you finally start dreaming about boys? You never seem to connect with any of the guys in this world today, game characters don't count," said Lorena, trying to lighten up the mood.

"No..Not really...Its like I was watching a war of somekind taking place; then in a flash of light, I was armored and armed for battle..It was just like...Dissidia..," said Karin, thinking about the dream once again. "Really? How was this triggered?" asked Lorena.

"My mom and I think I was playing too much Dissidia: Final Fantasy...So I'm cutting off of it for awhile and--" "Why don't you be normal and get rid of your games!" another female voice called out, interrupting Karin's conversation. An anger mark pulsed over Karin's forehead. "Was that 'Her'?..." growled Karin. "Yep..It is.." groaned Lorena. A girl about the same age as Lorena walked towards the two. She wore a tank top shirt in green as leaf green and matching thigh length shorts. She had long, flowing blonde hair and red-violet colored eyes, highlighted more from her purple eyeshadow. Bright, wide length green bracelets were on each of her wrists, just one each.

Her lipstick was as red as blood and a sapphire choker around her neck with the ornament in a shape of a dragon.

"Why don't you be like all normal girls...No wonder you never found someone yet," she said, as venomous as a viper.

"We have no time to play with you..Vivian...If you want to go play Barbie with someone, go find a wall and talk to it," growled Lorena.

"I wasn't talking to you, Lorena...I was talking to your geek friend right next to you," purred Vivian, aiming her insults at Karin.

"I got an idea...Why don't you walk away from here before I get up and run you over in my SUV like a filthy dog you really are," growled Karin, showing her 'claws' to her opposition.

"You wouldn't dare..." hissed Vivian. "I'd love to..Turn you into 'road kill', if you know what I mean," said Karin, "But it's against the law, so maybe knocking you out without no one watching will suit me better."

:Hmph...I like to see you try...Your only used to games, not reality," Vivian countered, "Take my advice...Those games are holding you down...It'd make your life better to let them go, you could find a certain someone one day..."

"You good for nothing little..--" "Karin, let me handle this," said Lorena, "You better walk away now before I get out my pocket knife in my purse and nail you somewhere fatal."

"No you wouldn't..*Gasp*" Vivian saw Lorena reach into her black purse for the so called 'pocket knife'. She immediately panics as Lorena brings out something that resembled a pocket knife, and runs in fear before the 'blade' was drawn out. "Hah hah ha ha...Gotcha," said Lorena with a smirk, flicking a 'file' from the pocket knife look-a-like. It wasn't a pocket knife, it was a pocket 'file'.

"Oh, my god...No you didn't.." Karin chuckled, preparing for a hysteric laughing fit. "Yep...I did..." chuckled Lorena. The two then began to laugh hysterically, pounding the table while lowering their heads laughing endlessly.

"I can't believe you pulled a fast one on her! Did you see the look on her face?" laughed Karin. "Yeah...That was priceless..I even got a shot on my phone of that..Look.." Lorena gets out her cellphone and shows the picture she took without Vivian noticing to Karin.

"Oh, my god! Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" cackled Karin, almost falling out of her seat towards under the table. Lorena tried not to join her friend, but couldn't help but fall on her best friend with laughter. Vivian was curious on what is those two girls were cackling about. She approaches the scene, then realized she was tricked.

"You....Oh! It's not over yet! I'll get you the next time we cross paths!" she fumed, storming off out of the food court area. "Remind me to bring a baseball bat, then," Karin joked. "I heard that!" cried Vivian. A few minutes go by, the two friends continue to eat their food and taking sips of their drinks. After finished, Karin then breaks the silence, "Is that Barbie girl gone?"

"Yeah..About freaking time...One of these days, I hope she gets ran over by a car..And I hope the driver is you," answered Lorena.

"Well, heck yeah..." said Karin.

"About your dream...Was it like a war breaking out, or something?" asked Lorena. "Yeah...It was like Dissidia. Ten on one side and ten on the other, but more joined in on one of the two sides they chosen to be on. I was with one of the groups and the battle was about to start. I don't get it...Its scaring me right now," Karin said with anxiety, trembling about the thought of the dream.

"Hey, calm down, girl....It was just a dream..Everyone dreams. There's just one dream I had last night that really scared me," said Lorena, calming Karin down.

"Really? What was it about?" asked Karin. "I was a baby in the dream, but I was laying on someone, like maybe a parent, but it gets weird...The guy in it...Had a tail," answered Lorena. Karin remained silent for a minute, then blinked, "The guy...Had a tail?...What kind of dream is that!?"

"I don't know...I have a woman's intuition that something bad is going on and I have a feeling we're gonna be involved in someway..But its just a feeling, it might play tricks on you," answered Lorena.

"True...I don't trust anything til I get facts to back it up," said Karin, "I have a bad gut feeling that the dream I had is trying to tell me something, but I don't know what it is."

* * *

The city was busy with activity, business was in top activity on the weekend of the summer season. Through the alleyway, a type of dimensional portal began to manifest. The portal began to change in color and width until a man in armor of dark blue and designs of gold walked through. Others joined him that were still in the dimension he came from. The knight character looked around the area, then said to the group behind him, "Some of us have found a way here...This should be our destination by the Goddess of Harmony."

A yellow ostrich-like bird with a man riding on it moves forward, then said to the knight, "I hope it is, but it could be a good way to get some traveling done...Right, Boko?" he pets the bird's head, named 'Boko'.

"You and traveling...Why can't you stay focused for awhile...Klauser," a youth said, dressed in red, gold, and possibly orange and silver, "One of these days those travels of yours will end up killing you...Have you thought of that, Bartz?"

"Get off my back, Onion boy...Some of us didn't make it...Like Zidane and Tidus..I hope they make it through safely," said Bartz.

"That's 'Onion Knight'...Not 'Onion boy'!" yelled Onion Knight.

"Enough! Both of you!" another male voice called out, revealing a warrior armed with multiple weapons, including a bow, lance, and sword, "This isn't like a Civil War against each other. The war of the Goddess of Harmony and God of Discord has repeated yet again, and under specific tasks of Cosmos, we must find the 'key' to aid us to victory."

"That is right..." a man said, dressed like a knight in black armor in a demonic fashion, "We must find the key and protect it at all costs from our enemies that sided with Chaos."

"Are you sure, Cecil? The last time, she told us to retrieve our crystals and in the process she lost all her powers and got killed by Chaos. She left the fate of everything to us...Are you sure this isn't a set up?" bquestioned Bartz.

"To be honest...I don't know," answered Cecil.

"The only way to find out is to follow our duty from Cosmos, and that means not sitting around to bicker about it," another man said, wearing a black jacket and pants armed with a weapon that was part gun, part sword. Another man walks ahead of the group. He had spikey blonde hair and wore a blue tinted black robe-like jacket with a metal lionhead on the right shoulder area holding a ring in its mouth.

"What's wrong, Cloud?" asked the knight, "Do you sense his presence?"

"Yes...Sephiroth's here, but somewhere far from here. It seems Geo-Stigma is being played into this," answered Cloud, "Because Sephiroth is the true carrier of the disease...He'll choose to or not to infect you with it...Unfortunately...I was the unlucky one.."

"Your infected with Geo-Stigma? It better not be contagious!" cried Bartz. Boko chirped in agreement. "Its not...I assure you, if you come into contact with any of those three followers of Sephiroth's, that 'one winged angel' will appear and choose to either infect you or not. If you encounter him directly, he'll challenge you to a fight; if you win, your lucky you ain't infected, but if you lose..Its another story," answered Cloud.

"He's a carrier?...Like a host to a parasite, Is there any chance of curing Geo-Stigma?" asked the Onion Knight.

"Don't ask me, ask the One Winged Angel," said Cloud.

"We better not confront any of the four just yet..I don't want anyone of us infected with Geo-Stigma," said the knight, "Not yet...We must get more stronger before the final confrontation." The Onion Knight didn't like the idea, "Are you serious? Does anyone know who Sephiroth is? I wouldn't stand a chance against him with both magic and sword..He's legendary!"

"We all know who Sephiroth is...We'll leave that to Cloud, I bet he wants to take the One Winged Angel down himself, right?" asked the man with a part gun part sword weapon, called a 'Gunblade'.

"That's right....Only I can fight and take him down...Its my duty, not anyone's elses," replied Cloud.

"Let's not sit around anymore, too much time is lost....We have to find that key," said the multi-weaponed man.

"Firion's right...Let's go," said Cecil. The knight nods, then said, "Let's go, then..."

* * *

In a park, alot of people walked around the area with their companions, alone, or with their dog. The fountain flowed with water as it shot straight upward into the sky with a spray. On one of the benches, two people sat down looking at the scenery. One of the two was a blonde haired man wearing a yellow jacket with white highlights and hood. A silver necklace was around his neck with a 'T' based design as the centerpiece. His shoes were the same colors of 'biohazard', yellow and black. The second of the two was a woman that wore a backless top-like shirt with the same design as the man's necklace centerpiece in the middle.

She wore jean shorts with a skirt-like material sewn into the right of the shorts. Her boots stretched all the way to her knees. A type of satchel was wrapped around her waist like a belt, able to carry something to the scene in a quick rate. Her hair was a very dark brown that had a beaded design dangling from her hair, as if the beaded design was made into her hair. Her hair was appeared to be short, but the rest was pulled back into a red, cloth-like material, making her hair stretch all the way down past her waist. "Aww..Look at the scenery, Tidus," she said to the man right next to her, named 'Tidus'.

"Its not so bad..." answered Tidus. She knew he was distracted by something, "Your being paranoid again, aren't you? He's not following us and I'm not talking about Auron."

"No...I'm talking about...Him..." said Tidus, looking around to make sure no one he knew didn't 'follow'.

"Oh...Your old man, huh? That's who I was talking about earlier. Jecht isn't following us, relax," she said, trying to soothe Tidus's paranoia.

"You know what happens in places like this. He'll follow me and there will be a big fight and there will be property damages. I don't wanna put people through that anymore," replied Tidus.

"I know...You don't want anyone hurt...He's not following us..If I find out he's here, I'll let you know and we can get out of here before he finds out where we are, will that make you feel any better?" she said. This cheered Tidus up. "Thanks, Yuna..." Tidus said. Tidus then took his time to view the scenery fully, then said, "It is beautiful...But not as beautiful as the ruins of Zanarkand in the water...Its good to be alive once again..I've missed too many things in this world, even you, Yuna."

"Oh, Tidus...Your being modest again.." said Yuna, blushing. "I'm serious...I've missed too much while I was still in the Farplane...But its good to be back here in the living," replied Tidus. He then turns to the center fountain staring in awe as the water sprayed into the air. Yuna was glad Tidus calmed down. "Tidus...Weren't we supposed to find this key somewhere, I know I'm part of this war with you and the others, but where should we start looking?" asked Yuna.

"Good question...Maybe we should start here, that way its a good start....Lets make sure he isn't following us.." said Tidus, getting up from the bench.

"Here we go again...Let's go find Auron," said Yuna, following Tidus away from the benches.

* * *

Back home, Karin's mom cleans the kitchen up bit by bit. Washing the dishes from breakfast in the sink, she hums a tune to herself to clear the silence away; then three knocks were heard from the front door. "Huh? I wonder who it could be? I know for sure Karin doesn't knock, she just come in and says, 'Mom, I'm home' or 'back'...Coming!" she said. As she approaches the front door, she sees a silluquet of a man in front of the door.

"I'm sorry..I should've moved quicker," Karin's mom said in sadness. She opens the door, revealing the man's identity as Cecil.

"Its alright..." Cecil replied. She recognized him by voice, "Came as a dark knight...Huh, Cecil?" she asked. Instantly knowing its alright, Cecil walks in, instantly changing his form. "Oh...Which one are you? A paladin or a dark knight?" Karin's mom asked. "How about both," answered Cecil, pulling away the stray strands of silver hair. Using the spear-like weapon as a staff, he walks around, looking through the living room, as if he was here before.

"It hasn't changed at all...How are things while I was away?" asked Cecil, turning to face Karin's mother. "The same, trying to go on with our lives..Have you heard the news?" she asked.

"I heard he died by an unknown disease...How is she? Has she coped well with this tragic loss?" Cecil asked with concern. She nodded, "The same ol' Karin...Playing her video games like everyone else does, not like those from Baron..."

"I understand..." said Cecil. "She's with her friend, Lorena at the mall on a lunch date. She's not home yet...I bet your hungry from your travels, want something to eat?" said Karin's mom. Cecil nods, then heads to the kitchen. As soon as he was about to be seated, three knocks were heard from the door.

"More company? Hang on a minute..." She then heads to the door, opening it to reveal a knight on the other side. "Oh my..Are you friends with Cecil?" she asked him.

"Yes...Did he get here alright?" he answered. "Yes he did...Are you looking for him? He's in the kitchen. I was about to make something...Would you like something to eat?" asked Karin's mom.

"Sure..I better get in, then," the knight enters the house, catching sight of Cecil. Cecil sighs in disbelief, then said, "Now your following me, huh, Warrior of Light?"

"I already knew you would be here, so why not join you," answered Warrior of Light. He removes his helmet and places it in the next chair, along with his sword on his shield.

After fixing the food for the three of them, they sat at the table. "So...The war has started again...When will this end?" asked Karin's mother.

"Afraid so...That's why we came to find the key to end it. Unfortunately, according to a foe of mine named 'Garland', he keeps saying if the conflict ends, it'll all repeat itself all over again," said Warrior of Light. "*sigh*...An endless cycle...Why can't we all live in peace? I guess it won't happen, it never does," sighed Karin's mom.

"We can live in peace, but there's always a select few that'll disrupt it. The world these days..I wish it could just end this conflict," said Cecil, taking a bite of his food.

"I wish that, too...But peace isn't eternal, no matter how much we want to dream about that," sighed Warrior of Light, taking a bite of his food. All of a sudden, the door opens, revealing Bartz coming in.

"Hey! You guys got here alright? I kinda got lost so...Boko!" Boko cautiously peeks in, taking a step with his bird-like foot. Bartz tried to get Boko outside.

"Get that Chocobo out of this house! The lady of the house worked hard to make it clean!" roared Warrior of Light. "Boko's stubborn sometimes...No, Boko..I'm afraid your not allowed inside," said Bartz. Boko cooed in a grumpy mood.

"Its alright, its alright...As long as...What's its name?" asked Karin's mom.

"Its 'Boko'..Boko's a 'he'," answered Bartz, "I'm so sorry!"

"As long as Boko doesn't track mud or anything inside, its alright," said Karin's mom. "Are you sure?" asked Warrior of Light.

"I guess its alright to come in..Hold on, Boko...Use that door mat first," said Bartz. Boko chirped, then wiped both of its bird-like feet on the door mat. Cecil was shocked, "You trained Boko to use a door mat?"

"Oh, my god...I cannot believe this," said Warrior of Light. "There's more to Boko than other Chocobos..." said Bartz, guiding his Chocobo companion carefully inside.

Boko fluttered his feathers, looking around to his new environment; then chirped. "Something smells good..." said Bartz, now entering the kitchen. Boko followed behind, cooing and chirping while looking around.

"There's still some left, would you like some?" asked Karin's mother. "There is? Okay...That sounds good," answered Bartz. Boko looks through out the kitchen, careful not to make a mess, or knock things over. Karin's mother fixes a fourth plate for Bartz. Knowing that Bartz was going to sit next to him, the Warrior of Light moves the helmet, sword and shield off the second chair to the table, allowing the traveler to sit down.

Boko waddled his way to his traveling companion, lightly pecking at the back of his head. "Hey! Boko...What are you doing? Better not be getting into trouble," said Bartz. "What do Chocobos like to eat? Maybe Boko is hungry," said Karin's mother in curiosity. "All Chocobos love Gysahl greens, they resemble carrots, but..Here's what they look like," answered Bartz, pulling out a type of carrot with a green vegitation stalk poking out the top of it from a bag he carried, "Boko loves this stuff..Boko!" Boko tries to take it from his hand, "Boko...If you want some..You need to have manners, this isn't our house." Boko chirped and pulls the chair next to his friend away from the table with his beak and actually sits in the chair. The Warrior of Light stared in shock, "Oh, god..."

"What have you been teaching Boko? Now he's gonna think he's a person, not a Chocobo," said Cecil.

"Boko is a person...And a Chocobo...Here's a plate, silverware, and your favorite food. Here ya go buddy," answered Bartz, fixing a plate with two Gysahl greens on it. Boko wanted to snarf both of them down like ordinary Chocobos, but instead used human manners and used his wings to grab the silverware of both knife and fork. Cutting the end off the first Gysahl green, Boko lifts the fork to his beak and eats the piece like a ordinary human. Cecil and the Warrior of Light stared in surprise.

"When did you teach Boko to be a human all of a sudden?" asked Warrior of Light.

"None of your business...I thought it would be a good idea when if there were people that'll allow Boko in, you know...Blend in," answered Bartz.

"How will Boko blend in? He's a Chocobo..We know that for sure," sighed Cecil. "He'll manage that...Right, Boko?" answered Bartz, patting the top of Boko's head. After swallowing a piece of Gysahl green, Boko cooes and chirps as if in affection. The Warrior of Light shook his head in disbelief.

"Please...Don't tell me she's involved..I don't want Karin to have any part of your war," said Karin's mother.

"We don't know, ma'am...We are still searching for the key for our victory against Chaos. We also splitted up to search everywhere far and wide," answered the Warrior of Light.

"I hope not, too..." said Cecil. Bartz knew where the conversation was leading, then asked, "Does she know?"

"About what?" asked Cecil. "You..Does she know about you? You probably already know what I'm talking about," answered Bartz, leaving his care-free attitude at the door of his mind. "No...Not yet," answered Cecil, understanding Bartz's question fully. Bartz was shocked and confused.

"Why haven't you told her!? I don't get it!" Bartz screamed in a low tone.

"Because its not a perfect time," said Warrior of Light, "One: Cecil lives in Baron, he doesn't belong here in this realm. Two: Its not the time yet to reveal the truth, only time will tell us."

"But...guh..." Bartz slumped in his seat, sadden by what the Warrior of Light said. Boko chirped in sadness. "Don't be sad, I know when that time comes..I'll try to explain it to her, but I hope Cecil helps out, too," said Karin's mother, trying to cheer Bartz up.

"Klauser...You must understand these thing people go through...In due time, the truth will be revealed. Patience is what it takes to get there," said Warrior of Light. Boko finished his food; then placed his head on the top of Bartz's, hoping it cheered him up. While leaving from the meeting, Bartz rode on Boko's saddled back in silence, confused about what happened. Cecil noticed an uneasy look on Bartz and walked towards him, and said, "I have a feeling that time is drawing near..Why are you distressed?"

"Because I don't know what's true or not anymore..That's what," replied Bartz, "It hurted...If anyone hid something like that from me..Why am I here anyway? I'm so confused.."

Boko turned his head around to face a distressed Bartz and lightly pecked his cheek, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thanks, buddy...I think I needed that..." Bartz replied.

"We're here to stop the war and end the conflict...Yet again. In accordance to Cosmos, we must find that key that will aid us to victory, I just hope the others are doing well--" "Gah!! I forgot something!" cried Bartz.

"What?!" cried both Cecil and the Warrior of Light. "My lucky feather charm! I left it back at the place! I gotta go get it!" screamed Bartz, but as he turned around, he notices a woman behind them out of breath. It was Karin's mother with a feather in her hand.

"Mister Klauser...I think you forgot this..I saw it at the table and realized you left so I had to track you down," she said, handing the feather to him.

"You didn't had to chase us. I was gonna turn around and get it," said Bartz, "But eitherway..Thank you." Boko lowered his head on her right shoulder, cooing.

"Aw..Your so sweet, Boko...Take care...All of you," replied Karin's mom, "Til we meet again, Cecil Harvey...Til we meet again." Cecil nodded, then the group heads to their task at hand: searching for that key.

After returning home, Karin's mother cleaned the kitchen up once more, washing the dishes the group used. As soon as she was about to put the plates away, a familiar voice calls out, "I'm back!" Karin was back home.

"Sweetie! Your back...How was the lunch date with Lorena? Did you have any fun?" her mother asked. "Yep, we did...Somehow ran into Vivian again, but we got rid of her," answered Karin.

"Please don't tell me there was violence," said Karin's mom. "Nope, we played a prank on her and that was that," answered Karin. Three hours went by as the sun began to move down to the horizon to turn to evening. Karin sat in the living room listening to music from her PSP, bobbing her right foot to the music, that is until her mother made a strange discovery.

"That's odd...The sky's acting funny.." she said. Karin heard that and went to her, "What do you mean the sky is acting funny?" Karin asked her mother. "Go look outside and see for yourself, honey...Its changing colors..I don't get it," replied her mother. Karin goes outside and looks at the sky, but what she witnessed shocked her. The sky at first was normal blue, til shades of black and red showed, like a dimensional flux. How the sky acted reminded her of a game called 'Metroid Prime 2: Echoes', in the beginning, there was one scene that involved something like this.

"What is going on??" as soon as she finished, her cellphone rang. She looked to see who was calling and it was Lorena.

"Hello.." said Karin. "Karin...Are you looking at the sky? Its acting odd," answered Lorena from the receiver end.

"I'm looking...Something wicked is going on and I don't like it," said Karin. In the park, a man in a red colored robe\jacket wearing shades looked up to the sky with his only right eye, because his left was scared and closed.

'This doesn't look good..' he thought, 'I better find those two." He runs off to find two people, into the vast labyrinth of the park. Tidus and Yuna look up to the sky, watching the colors shift from black\red to blue.

"That's not good...It looks like Chaos is gaining back his strength..," said Yuna. Tidus clenched his chest in fear of what is happening, then said, "We gotta hurry...Where's Auron?" As if on cue, the man in a red robe\jacket arrives.

"Did you see the sky?" he asked. "We did, Auron...We got to hurry," said Yuna. Auron nodded.

"Let's not waist no more time..Let's go," said TIdus. Near a abandoned shack-like hut, the Onion Knight and a girl wearing bright clothing and a sword in one hand and the other in its sheath look to the sky in shock. Her hair was wavy and held with multiple hair ties and wore heeled shoes on her feet.

"Oh, my god...Chaos is recovering..." awed the Onion Knight. "We need to find the key quickly, or all is lost.." she said, looking to the sky in sadness.

Near a bookstore, Firion, the multi-weaponed warrior, looks to the sky. A feeling of fear and urgency overtook him.

"Oh, no...Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" asked the man right next to him with a gunblade.

"Yeah...Chaos is recoviering his powers..We gotta hurry.." said Firion. "Or...He's sending his troops here to find what we're looking for and destroy it before we get to it..We must not waist no time," said Cloud.

"Coming, Squall?" asked Firion. The man with the gunblade, Squall, nodded, "I'm coming." The Warrior of Light, Bartz, Boko, and Cecil look into the sky, knowing all to well of what is going on.

"The quickening....He's recovering his lost power...We must hurry!" said the Warrior of Light. The others in the group agreed; then they all frantically searched the area for the key to their salvation. Far away from the scene away from the city, a man with short silver hair looks to the sky. His eyes were aqua green with slitted pupils. Dressed in leather black, he smiles at the sky and rushes to two others near by. The second had longer hair than the first, but the same color of silver. He, too wore leather black, and had the same eye features as well. The third also wore leather black, but his silver hair was in a spike and short. He as well had the same eye features.

"My brothers in arms...Its almost time!" the first said, "The god of Discord is recovering his lost strength...My lord! My lord, your back!" Approaching the scene, a long silver haired man walked towards the three. He as well wore a leather black outfit, but the chest was held open by two straps in a fashion of an 'X'. His eyes were the same as the three. What separated the other three was that he had one black feathered angel wing on the left side of his left shoulder. His kantana was in his right hand, aiming the blade upward. The blade had to be well over two feet long in legnth.

"The time is drawing near...My friends," he said, "Soon...We'll be blessed by the God of Discord and become gods ourselves. Nothing will stand in our way, as long as Geo-Stigma is in our arsenal, we are the only carriers."

"That's right, and we'll make this planet our vessel, just like what Mother would do!" cried the spiked hair man.

"That's right, Loz.." said the second silver haired man. "I second that, too, Yazoo," said the first of the trio, acting as leader, but the one winged man was the true leader of the four.

"That is correct, Kadaj...Just as Mother did long ago...Then we'll find another planet to corrupt with Geo-Stigma...And continue the cycle til Mother is pleased," the one winged man said. Kadaj, the pack leader, unsheathed his double bladed kantana and rose it to the air, "Then everyone will tremble in fear of the name 'Sephiroth'! The One Winged Angel!"

The other two, Yazoo and Loz, rose their weapons to the air, chanting 'Sephiroth! Sephiroth!' The one winged man, Sephiroth, then spoke, "We're not staying focused...." The three silenced and composed themselves. They knew they need to focus on the tasks ahead. "Now then...We must find and destroy that key...At once, let's split up, but keep a telepathic link to one another...I don't want to lose anyone," said Sephiroth. The three nodded and got onto their black motorbikes and rode into different directions, leaving Sephiroth to wonder once more into the horizon.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Gateway Has Opened: The Key is Revealed.

**'The gateway to war has appeared before us, seperating our realms with its constant vigil.**

**The Quickening has surged the skies, releasing the enemy's soliders into the search to destroy salvation to the saints.**

**The gate is open...The skies cry with the tears of the sadden Goddess, behold the new territory of sanity.'**

A few days pass after the sky event above the city. It is 7:30 in the morning and Karin still slumbers in her bed, but she tosses and turns in her bed, as if interacting to a dream she is enveloped in. Inside the dream, a three year old Karin sleeps in her bed peacefully, til a man walks in as if to check in on her. It wasn't her father, but someone else. The man wore a type of armor as black as darkness, including a mask-like demonic based helmet. The three year old was lucky to be asleep at a perfect time, if she was awake, she would end up having nightmares for awhile.

The man approaches the bed and lifts the child into his arms, cradling her with affection. 'Everything will be alright,' he said to her, 'Everything will be better for all of us...I want to keep you safe as much as possible, you mean everything to me and if I lose the most important thing in my life, my light...I won't go on in this world..Stay safe...I...I miss you...' He held onto her as if determined to not let go.

'When the time comes...Little one...I will tell you the truth...Til it is time..'

What did the dream meant? Who was that man in the armor?

Karin's eyes shot open, lurching up in her bed with a wave of anxiety. She then looks at the clock, which read 10:35 AM. She finally calms down from her dream, then picked up her cellphone to make a call to Lorena. At a well decorated house, Lorena heads to the kitchen to fix a sandwich for breakfast. She too had a strange dream as well, but soon forgot about it for now. Her own cellphone rings, reading out on the caller ID: Karin.

"Hmm? Hello, this is Lorena," said Lorena, talking into the phone.

"Lorena...Your not gonna believe this, I just had a really strange dream," said Karin, sounding out of breath.

"What is it about? Do you wanna head to the mall to talk about it?" asked Lorena. "Okay...That sounds like a plan, I'll be there," said Karin. The two hang up and gets ready for the mall meeting, but unknown to the two, this event will change their lives forever. Karin composes herself and fixes an outfit: A yellow colored short sleeved shirt with a white long sleeved shirt underneath with a pair of jeans. She walks out of her room and goes to the door to first retrieve her car keys, just before she opened the front door, her mother arrives to the scene.

"Where are you going? Are you heading to the mall? Like yesterday?" she asked her daughter.

"Yeah..You don't want me to go? If you don't want me to go, then I'll stay home--" "No, no..Its just I have a bad feeling something bad is going on..If your going..Take this with you, in case you get yourself in a jam," said Karin's mom, hand Karin a battery-powered taser for self defense.

"A taser? Why do I need it?" asked Karin. "Its just...Here's some more batteries in case of an emergency..Its just something is going on and I have a bad feeling, like a woman's intuition," answered Karin's mother.

"Oh..To defend myself? If you need me to take this with me, then alright..I'll have my phone with me, don't worry," Karin assured her mother. She then opens the door and walks out to her car. Karin had a bad feeling her mother was hiding something, but now was not the time to ponder that at the moment. She drove through the intersections to the mall, but when she stopped at one of the stop lights, she looks to her right and spots a man riding on a big, yellow feathered ostrich-like bird with a saddle. She looked in shock, then rubbed her eyes as she turned away. "This can't be right...' she thought to herself. The light turns green and she drives off to her destination.

On Boko's back, Bartz noticed the look on Karin's face when she saw him, 'What? Is it me, or has she never seen a Chocobo before? Hmmm...' he thought. Boko chirped in curiosity, but then straddled up the sidewalk. Now arriving at the mall, she quickly heads to the food court. Lorena sees her and rushes to her, "You made it! What's wrong, why so freaked out?"

"I thought I saw something odd while on my way here," answered Karin. "Like what?" asked Lorena. "If I told you, you'll think I'm crazy..." said Karin.

"Try me..." said Lorena. Karin draws in a deep breath and said, "I thought I saw two characters from Final Fantasy V at the stop light coming here...On the sidewalk."

"Now that's odd...Are you sure it wasn't a type of cosplay, or something? Which two characters?" asked Lorena.

"I know for sure one of them is a bird..Or in the game a 'Chocobo'--" "You mean those big birds that has yellow feathers in the Final Fantasy games that look like ostriches?" Lorena interuppted.

"Yeah...I thought I saw the two characters, Bartz and Boko...But I must've been seeing things," said Karin. Lorena was puzzeled, then had to bring the main topic of the meeting in the spotlight.

"Your dream...What was it about when you mentioned it on the phone?" asked Lorena. Before Karin could answer, a familiar voice calls out to them, "We cross paths yet again!"

"Oh, god..Now what?" groaned Karin. Vivian makes her appearence, angry from their last encounter.

"Its time for payback for what you did! I'll make sure you pay for this!" she fumed.

"I have a taser, now...If I were you, I'd back off before you become a lit Christmas tree," said Karin. In another dimension, two furred fighters fought against one another. One had red fur with fabrics of white while the second was smaller than the first with purplish-pink fur. They continued to clash with one another with both spells and swords. Back at the Thunderbird Mall, Vivian pressed forward with her assaults of words.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this, missy..." growled Vivian. "Do you really have a taser?" asked Lorena.

"Yeah...Its in my purse," said Karin. Just when Karin took one step forward, Lorena calls out, "Kar! Look!" Karin looks to where Lorena was pointing and saw a dimensional flux-like wall appear, then disappeared. Its next location was near the three girls, then to near the tables.

"What is going on?" cried Vivian, "Is this some joke?" "It looks like something from Metroid Prime 2...But is it really?" said Lorena. The two fighters clashed more; leaving the red furred one ramming the other in the barrier seperating the two realms.

"Kuja, stop!" he cried out as he hitted the barrier, "If you keep ramming me into the barrier, it'll weaken and--" "Cease with the noise, Tribal!" roared 'Kuja', "I want to hear glorious music...Of your scream in agony!!"

Karin was getting sick of the fluxes moving around, then shouted out, "If there's something thats gonna come out, come out already!" 'Kuja' strikes 'Tribal' with a powerful spell, sending him backwards into the barrier, causing him to slip through, escaping his tormentor. As if appearing through magic, he slides backwards into a couple tables on his front, revealing himself to the public, scaring them sensless.

"What is that?! An animal?!" screamed a woman. Lorena saw this, and so did Karin and Vivian.

"What the...Is that guy wearing no clothes, and has pinkish-purple fur and a tail??" asked Lorena. 'No...This isn't right...That's..That's..' Karin thought.

"Hey! Who's that? He looks like he's from a Final Fantasy game, which one?" asked Lorena.

"He is...That's Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX...This can't be right..." answered Karin. The furred fighter, known as Zidane, looks up and sees Karin staring at him. "Why does he look like that, geek...Explain that," said Vivian.

"In Final Fantasy IX...Zidane is a genome...Humanoid synthesized vessels, that was made to be an angel of death inplace of Kuja, another genome. This is what Zidane looks like using an ability called 'Trance'. Kuja knows this as well, but his form is different," explained Karin.

"How do you know about me?" asked Zidane, getting up, "How do you know Kuja...Kuja!" He realizes he's not where he was and looked towards Karin, as if he found something. "You...We've been looking for you...Its not safe, if Kuja follows me, then--" before he finished, an energy orb strikes him in the side; causing him to fly into a pillar. "Ahhhh!" screamed both Karin, Lorena, and Vivian. "What was that?!" screamed Karin. As she looked towards the plants where Zidane flew out, another furred fighter floated through the dimensional flux. "That...Is Kuja," said Karin, pointing at the fighter, identified as Kuja.

"Zidane..." he said in a sing song voice, "I'm coming for you..." Zidane immediately gets back up with two dagger-like swords in each hand and swings at Kuja, but missing everytime he levitated away backwards. Kuja then wraps his tail around Zidane's neck, choking him.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! That's the kind of music I wanna hear! As your life slips away, I will take it as my own," cooed Kuja. Hiding behind a table as it covered them as a shield, Lorena and Karin looked in shock. "Do something! Kuja's gonna kill Zidane!" cried Lorena. Karin brings out her taser that her mother gave her and ran at Kuja.

"Ku...Kuj...Ku.." gasped Zidane as he held on Kuja's tail. "I've been waiting for this day for many years! Now its finally here!--" "Let him go! You furred freak!" Karin screamed, tasing Kuja's side with electrical currents in the taser.

"Gaaaahhhhh!!! How dare you!!!" screamed Kuja. His tail loses its grip on Zidane and frees him. Zidane gasps for air, then turned his attention to Karin. As if like a side effect, Zidane reverts back to his normal appearence, wearing a green colored vest over a white shirt. His pants were a green-blue color with grey to sliver boots and gloves. A type of sheath was shown.

"Hang on!" cried Zidane. Kuja wraps his tail around Karin's left arm and flings her to the side, ceasing the assault from the taser.

Zidane leaps into the air and catches Karin from getting injured, skidding on the floor with his feet. His tail held onto a available structure to cease his skidding. Karin opens her eyes and sees that the main hero from Final Fantasy IX had save her from devestating injury. "It isn't safe...You gotta get out of here before Kuja hurts you," he said.

"What is going on? Why are you looking for me? What did I do wrong??" asked Karin. Lorena rushes to the scene, grabbing Karin, "We gotta get out of here! Meet me at my house! We'll call your mother there, okay?"

"Okay...I think we're gonna see what Kuja really looks like...Look!" said Karin. Kuja reverts back to his original form, revealing he has long silver hair with some strands sticking up like a feather.

His vest-like jacket had white snow bell ended sleeves and a very dark grey center body with yellow lines on it. He also wore a type of belt that held a back end of a cape at his waist.

"Oh, my god...Does he wear very much?" asked Lorena. "Zidane...I'm gonna kill you! For good!" Kuja roared out, walking towards him making clacking sounds with knee-high boots with center gold buckles. He then spots Karin, then began to smirk, "I've found you, my dear....Unfortunately I wrote a perfect melody for you...Its your reqiuem!" Karin screamed in terror while Zidane used himself as a shield. Just as Kuja was about to cast a magic attack, a humanoid lion with blue fur and silver mane hair armed with a type of lance nails Kuja.

"Hang on!" a woman's voice cried out. Karin looks to where the voice came from and sees a black, long haired woman holding a type of doll in her right arm. The woman wore a charcoal grey dress with fur fabrics across the neck area exposing her shoulders. The front was held with many straps and buckles of the dress, covering her feet completely. The second person rushes to the scene from the northeast. His hair was red and rose up into a spike. He wore a type of sea blue headband around his forehead. He wore a vest like shirt that was black and yellow with traces of aqua green. His pants were orange-yellow with strings to them and wore sandals. A type of necklace was worn around his neck.

A third and fourth person rushes behind the woman. One of the two was a woman dressed in black with charcoal light grey hair. With a sword in hand, it had a emblem of a skull near the hilt. The second was also a woman, but she had yellowish blonde hair held up with a bright blue headband. She wore a dark, dull forest-green miniskirt and a bright yellow top. Armed with mini-blades in each hand, she rushes to the battlefield.

'What the? Aren't those guys from...Final Fantasy X and X-2?' thought Karin. "Hold him! Kimhari! Hold him!" the black haired woman shouted.

Kuja fought through Kimahri's hold as he used his lance to hold Kuja in place. "Trying! Kuja strong!" called Kimahri. The woman then casts a magic spell of her own through her doll, of fire. "Fires burn!" she chanted, aiming the blast at Kuja, taking a hit.

"Graahhh!! Curse you...Lulu!!" roared Kuja. Lulu wasn't finished. "Ice freezes the hearts of men!" she casts a icy blast of magic at Kuja, nailing him with it. She then looks towards Karin, Lorena, and Zidane; then turns to the woman in black and the man near the area and said, "Wakka...Paine, get them out of here."

Wakka nodded, then rushes towards the three. "Come on, its not safe, ya...Lets go!" he said. Paine arrives a minute later, "Come on...We gotta get you out of here!" Karin and Lorena rushes away from the scene, leaving the others; including Zidane to combat Kuja.

"Hey, you okay, Tribal?" asked the second woman that was with Paine. "I'm okay, now Rikku...I thought I was dead, but I've been through worse.." answered Zidane. Kuja kicks backwards into Kimahri, letting go of the genome mage. "Where is Zidane!?" roared Kuja. He then turns to the others before him, then growled like a feral animal and uses his ability 'Trance' once more.

Wakka and Paine guide the two girls towards the entrance, getting them to safety. "Here we are...You better get out of here, Kimahri won't be able to hold Kuja back for long...Get out of here before you two get hurt, go," said Paine in a lukewarm attitude voice.

"Thanks," both Lorena and Karin said as they opened the door and ran out. Wakka sighed with relief, but then both him and Paine heard a glass break and they immediately turned around to face a trance Kuja behind them. "Not again..." groaned Paine.

"Lulu! Kuja's here!" Wakka called out. "Where did they go? Answer Me!!!" said Kuja, finishing his sentence with a yell. "We're telling you nothing, you overgrown ape!" cursed Wakka. Kuja took the words hard and leaps at him, but Rikku leaps at him and nails him with both of her swords. "Graahhh!!!" roared Kuja. Lorena rushes to her car, a Coupe, and takes off to her house. Karin was close behind, getting into her SUV as quick as she can. After placing her keys into the ignition, she takes off after her friend. Karin drives through an intersection that leads to Lorena's house, a route she knows all too well. As she stops the car near the nearest food place. She sighs with relief after the whole situation at the mall.

After a few minutes of recollection, her thought was cut off by a bird's head peeking into the driver's window, checking the inside of something new to it.

"Waahhhh!!! What the!?!" screamed Karin. Boko looked around and cooed in curiosity. Bartz walks out of the food place with a sandwich and fries in his hand, then saw that Boko was scaring the driver in the car. 'Oh, no!' he thought.

"What do you want?!" screamed Karin. Boko chirped at Karin and showed he didn't mean no threat and placed his head on her shoulder. "Awwww.....I'm sorry.." said Karin, petting the Chocobo's head. Bartz arrives at the scene.

"Boko! What are you doing?! Get your head outta there!" said Bartz, getting Boko's head out of the car. Boko chirped with resistance, but knew he had to obey. "I'm so sorry! Boko gets this way and likes to scare people like that..Even though he didn't mean to," Bartz apologized.

"That's alright..I was calming down from a 'hostel' situation and I'll better get going..." answered Karin.

"What happend? Are you alright?" asked Bartz, now curious. "I'm alright...I better get going..I'm supposed to meet with someone," answered Karin, remembering to head to Lorena's house.

"Oh...Okay, then..I better not stall you; then..Be careful," said Bartz. "I will...Thanks," replied Karin, backing up to leave the driveway. Bartz looks onward as the car drives off into the street, but then remembered seeing her before.

"Hold on...Didn't we see her before?" asked Bartz. Boko nodded in agreement. "Oh, yeah! While we was going up the sidewalk! I remember now!...Oh well, lets go eat somewhere, okay buddy," said Bartz, getting on Boko's back. The Chocobo chirped and waddled away from the parking lot to the sidewalk.

Now arrived to her destination, Karin fills in her dream from this morning to Lorena. "Your kidding?!" gasped Lorena.

"No...But I wish I was.." said Karin, saddened by what the whole day was ending up to be.

"Don't worry...It'll be alright....I have a plan, After things cool down a bit, we'll head to the park in your car together. My car all of a sudden decided it didn't want to cooperate and broke down on me as soon as I got home--" Karin's cellphone rings, interuppting Lorena's sentence, "I bet its your mom worrying about you," said Lorena. Karin looks at her phone and it read out 'Home Number'. "Oh my god...Your right.." said Karin.

Karin answers the phone and said "Hello?" "Karin! Are you alright!?" a familiar voice asked in the reciever. It was her mother. Lorena turns the TV on to see the fight senerio on the news. "Oh my god...Its on the news!" exclaimed Lorena.

"I'm alright...I'm at Lorena's house right now...Are you watching the news right now?" asked Karin.

"Yes I am...Are you alright? Somehow someone filmed some of it from afar and you was in the video trying to save someone, did that taser I gave you have any effect?" her mother asked.

"To get that red furred guy off the other? Yeah and I went flying, but the guy he was trying to hurt saved me and I got out of there unscathed.." answered Karin.

"That's good, keep it with you...It might help," said Karin's mother. "I'm gonna stay with Lorena til tommororw...Somehow those guys are looking for me and said they've found me...I don't know why, but the answer is out there somewhere..I just gotta find it someway," said Karin.

"Alright, be careful...Bye sweetie," said Karin's mother. "Bye," said Karin and the conversation ended.

"What now?" asked Lorena, "I don't know...But this is odd on so many levels..." replied Karin. Back at the parking lot near the back of the mall, Vivian finds her car in ruins from the scuffle in the mall that escalated to this parking lot.

"My Camaro...No...Huh?" said Vivian, seeing a silver short haired man on his bike staring at her. She was curious at why he was staring at her, she had to find out now.

"What are you staring at? Don't you have other things to do?!" Vivian called out. Kadaj smirked as she drew closer. "You saw the key...Where'd she go?" he asked, keeping his cool.

"What key? What the heck are you talking about?" questioned Vivian. "What's up with your eyes? They look weird....Maybe you should have someone take a look at them--" "Where...Is the key...Child," growled Yazoo, approaching her from the left, "Answer us, or we'll make him come."

"Who's 'Him'? Your eyes are as weird as the other guys..--" Before Vivian got a chance to finish, Loz grabs her and flings her away from Yazoo into the lot. She even noticed Loz's eyes were also the same as the other two. "Answer us, little girl..Where is she!?" Vivian panicked and tried to get away from the scene, but was stopped by what she ran into. She falls backwards to the ground, seeing another silver haired man towering over her with the same eyes as the trio, but one angel wing with black feathers. Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz immediately bowed, because they knew Sephiroth has arrived. What scared poor Vivian was the sheer length of his sword, and knew she wasn't no match for him.

Sephiroth lowers to her level, allowing her to peer into his aqua green eyes, the cold, aqua green eyes of a heartless angel. "Answer us...Little one, tell us..Where the key is..I know you saw her earlier," said Sephiroth, tapping into Vivian's mind, "You can't hide anything from me...I will always find out what my victims hide, no matter what...Tell me what you cherish most, if you don't answer us, I will take it all away...Your hopes...Your dreams...Even those you hold dear and your life..To Geo-Stigma.

"Your talking about that Karin Ryuska..Aren't you?" asked Vivian. At last, an answer was provided to the One Winged Angel, causing him to smile.

"That is whom I speak of...Tell me more," Sephiroth cooed. "That...Grrrr...She always think she's special! I'd do anything to get rid of her. Always having more than me, I'll show her...I'll show her.." growled Vivian. Sephiroth took this advantage, then said, "I can help you get rid of her...But in return, you must help us find her...Where is this 'Karin'? Where can we find her?"

"I have a good hunch on two places to try...If there's more than four of you guys, you can try to send others to her house, but for us...Lets head to the park..I have a feeling she'll head there," answered Vivian. From that moment on, Vivian makes a pact, a pact to the One Winged Angel, Sephiroth to save those she cherished most, to get rid of her rival, Karin, and to avoid the infection of Geo-Stigma. Now armed with new information, their tasks were set.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Battle of Domanince: More Questions Than Answers

'**Behold the domant battle of Elder and Youth of an ancient ruin. It takes place in a confined area infront of a key of salvation.**

**The Stigma Angel reaches forward with a poisoned grip, hoping to destroy even the tiniest glimmer of hope.**

**The saints scramble to save their source of victory, only then the truth can be revealed....'**

Lorena's mother arrives home in time for a late lunch, suprised to see Karin there as well. "Karin...What are you doing here?" she asked, setting her purse on a table stand.

"Did you see the news?" asked Lorena. "Oh, yeah...I did somehow. Did you really taser that thing?" answered Lorena's mother.

"Yeah...I had to save the other guy from getting killed," answered Karin.

"Wow! Your a hero!" said Lorena's mom. "Mom..I don't want to be rude, but we're in a middle of a crisis right now," said Lorena. Her mother backed off, then said, "Maybe I can help...What's going on?"

Lorena filled her mother in on the situation. As soon as she finished, her mother understood. "I see...Strange things have been happening lately...Oh...Something's on the news.." said Lorena's mother, turning on the news. The news reporter spoke on the television set, "More deaths are beginning to rise slightly as more people are infected with the same disease that took the life of Infamous Flamingo's businessman, Gerald Ryuska. Rumors speculate that if anyone comes into contact with the one winged man with silver hair will be infected. The CDC are on high alert for more infectants. If anyone is expirencing these symptoms listed, please report to the CDC for evauluation..." The reporter said.

"Gezz...Looks like a plague," said Lorena's mother. Lorena turns to Karin, who had a shocked look on her face.

"Kar...You okay?" Lorena asked. "...I know what it is now...And I don't believe..." Karin said.

"I better fix lunch right now..You girls go figure this out," said Lorena's mother. Lorena then takes Karin to her room, which was almost a splitting image to Karin's, but with posters on the wall. The two sit on her bed, ready to think about the situation at hand.

"Karin..You said you know what it is..What is the disease?" asked Lorena.

"How they showed the rash picture of it...It looked like...The Geo-Stigma from the Final Fantasy VII movie," answered Karin. "You mean 'Advent Children'? Come to think of it...It does.." answered Lorena.

"This isn't right...I saw two characters from Final Fantasy V, then now at the mall, we saw characters from Final Fantasy IX, X, and X-2...Even weird, I petted Boko from V, and was talking to Bartz, who's also from V as well...Before coming here.." said Karin.

"What is going on? All of a sudden we're seeing Final Fantasy characters...Wait, the news said something about a silver haired man with one wing..Could this guy be another Final Fantasy character?" asked Lorena.

"The only one that fits that is....Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII...How is this right--" "Girls! Lunch is ready!" Lorena's mother called out, interupting the two's thoughts. "On second thought...Maybe we are exaggerating and are seeing things..Cosplays right?" said Lorena.

"That too...But Boko felt real...Oh what the heck...Lets go eat," said Karin, cheering up instantly. The two walk to the kitchen with Lorena's mother for a late lunch. Lorena's mom was at the stove, making three grilled cheese sandwiches; one for her, Lorena and her guest, Karin.

"Here ya go..." Lorena's mother said, handing two of the plates to the two girls.

"Thank you...I think we're seeing things all of a sudden..I don't know," said Karin, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Maybe that disease could be something else than....It could be something new other than," Lorena started.

"Yeah...But I have a bad feeling it really is..." answered Karin.

"Whatever it is...I hope they find a treatment or a cure for it...If I get infected, it'll be a death sentence at this point," said Lorena's mother, taking a bite of her sandwich, "So...What are you two up to now?"

"Well...When things settle down, we was gonna head to the park alittle later after things cooled down from the news and the mall incident we were in," answered Karin.

"Oh. A girl's day out, huh? How things are right now, its best to be careful everywhere you go. Eitherway..Its good to have some fun once in your life," said Lorena's mother.

* * *

While standing infront of an electronics store with multiple TVs behind the glass, the Warrior of Light saw the situation on the screen, relieved that Zidane had made it through, even at the price of Kuja following.

'Zidane has made it at last...But Kuja was relentless...' then his thought was driven off by a voice of a woman with the sweetest voice heard, a voice extremely familiar to him.

'Warrior of Light...' the voice said. He then looked around and headed to a secluded alleyway, making darn sure he didn't draw any attention around him.

At a good place, he then speaks, "Cosmos...I'm here,"

'The key...Has been revealed. Zidane has found her and done well along with Lulu, Rikku, Paine, Wakka, and Kimahri to guide her away from that sadistic mage, Kuja....Her friend is also in danger.. We must protect the both of them at all costs,' Cosmos said telepatihicly to the knight.

"Cosmos...Who is the key? We've been searching feverishly to find the key and still nothing...We need your guidence," said the Warrior of Light.

'I've already informed the others the identity of the key...Your the last for me to reveal it to. Remember the house you, Cecil, Bartz, and Boko were at...' said Cosmos. It then all clicked. The Warrior of Light was in shock that it was the whole time Karin. "I'm glad everyone is now on high alert...But the enemy might already know of this because Kuja knew as well, I must hurry!" he said, rushing to find her.

'Go, Warrior of Light...I implore you..Find the key to salvation. If Chaos wins..All is lost,' said Cosmos as the Warrior of Light rushes to find Karin.

* * *

At the abandoned hut-like shack, the Onion Knight puts samples of a type of liquid under a microscope, examining it carefully and more important to not get it on him.

"Hmmm....Its all true, then....Sephiroth is the carrier.." he said to himself. Cloud looked out the window, then turned to the Onion Knight in curiosity.

"Why are you determined to find the cure for Geo-Stigma? I said that only Sephiroth knows..." Cloud said in his usual way.

"Sephiroth is an enemy and he won't give it away like that...He's too smart," answered the Onion Knight, "If I can find a way myself, then these people won't suffer anymore. And help you from the disease's grip, because since you've been infected for such a long time, I bet you wanna get rid of it."

"True..But I'm used to it..The reason Geo-Stigma hasn't killed me is because I still have traces of Jenova Cells in me back in the day I was a SOLIDER," said Cloud.

"Now I get it...But I don't get the other thing..." groaned the Onion Knight.

"How was you able to get close to Sephiroth without him noticing you? And thank god your not infected.." asked Cloud, curious. "I managed to follow his so called 'Followers' til I saw him, then got as close as I could to get a blood sample from the One Winged Angel. I already knew he sensed me afterwards and I just ran away like a chicken with its head cut off," answered the Onion Knight.

"Good tactic...You already know your no match against him," said Cloud. Scratching the back of his blonde haired head without his helmet, the Onion Knight turns to Cloud, "I will with all my power protect the innocent, even from a disease they don't know about. No matter how long it takes...I will find the antidote," Cloud heard the young warrior's vow, and then nodded, "I hope so...Or all is lost. I better look for the key. Now I gotta think like Sephiroth..."

"Better yet...I got a better idea..Your after Sephiroth, too aren't you?" asked the Onion Knight. "Yes...What are you thinking?" asked Cloud.

"If I was Sephiroth...And you can sense him well...Maybe..If you found Sephiroth and his followers, then at the same time you'll find the key to our victory. The catch to that is to fend off the One Winged Angel so she can get away," said the Onion Knight.

"Of course...Cosmos already telepathicly told us her identity, but when I was with Cecil earlier coming back, he didn't look happy," said Cloud. "I know...I feel sorry for him...She is his daughter after all. We must do everything in our power to protect her from the enemy til the time comes, and for Cecil's sake.." said the Onion Knight.

"I'll be off, then..." said Cloud. The Onion Knight then returned to his task, but was interupted by the girl with bright clothing holding what appears to be herbs in her hands. "Here's the herbs you requested...They were hard to find, but I managed," she said, placing them next to him.

"Hard to find? Hmmm....Maybe next time I should look for them so it wouldn't be too much trouble for you, Terra," said the Onion Knight. Terra giggled, "That's alright...Found out anything yet?"

"Not yet...But lets see if we can," said the Onion Knight.

* * *

Driving to the park familiar to them, Karin and Lorena were off to settle down further from the mall scuffle earlier in the day.

"You know...I love this song...'The Messenger'...To be honest, I like the earlier version of it," said Lorena.

"I do, too...But it's called 'Cosmos', and its not the whole thing...Eitherway, its still the same song," answered Karin. They arrive to their destination in the parking lot.

"At last...Now we can relax and settle down from our troubles," said Karin, stretching her arms up into the air.

"I agree...Lets go!" said Lorena, following Karin into the park. After a few minutes of walking and admiring the view of the scenery, the two found a nearby bench and sat down to rest their feet.

"Boy...I'm starting to feel much better...All the cares away..At least its more peaceful now," said Lorena. In a strike of luck, Tidus and Yuna walked across near the benches at least a yard away.

"Man...Where could she be? I know Cosmos told us who it is...We've been searching for this 'Karin' for a few days now..." Tidus then began to turn aroumd to face the benches to rest, but as if time slowed down, he catches sight of Karin, now realiizing he has found who he was looking for.

"Tidus? What's wrong?" asked Yuna. Tidus then looked to Yuna, then said, "Yuna...Look ahead of us..." She does what Tidus said to do and catches sight of Karin and Lorena. 'The Key!' thought Yuna. Karin twirls the car keys in her hand, listening to the sound of birds chirping away.

"Man...At least its safe now--" "Hey!" Tidus called out to the two girls. Karin looks towards where the voice came from and began to panic.

"What the?! More Final Fantasy characters?! Let's get outta here!" said Lorena. Yuna was quick to grab them and said, "No! We're not gonna hurt you...You two need to stay with us." Tidus rushes to the scene, then said, "Everything's gonna be okay now...We finally found you."

"What do you mean?! What did I do!? Why are you guys searching for me!?" said Karin in confusion.

"Tidus...Yuna...We gotta get out of here...He's coming," said Auron.

"You mean my old man?" asked Tidus. "Yeah..He saw me..." answered Auron. Tidus could sense the fear in him for the people at the park and for both Karin and Lorena. "We gotta get you girls out of here! Lets go!" said Tidus.

"What is going on?" asked Lorena, but soon they heard a gruff voice call out to someone. who happends to be at Tidus, "Kid!!" Tidus immediately turned around to face a gruff man with no shirt and dark grayish blue shorts with straps on both sides. Somekind of spikes of fabric were connected to the orange red fabric to his shorts.

The man had long black, messy hair with a red headband across his forehead and tanned skin. What bore a resemblence to Tidus was a tatto on his torso of the same symbol as the centerpiece as Tidus's necklace. Armed with a big sword with yellow designs near the hilt and a chain connected to it, he made a call out to Tidus once more.

"Tidus!! Get back here, boy!" he yelled out. "Get out of here! Go!! I'll deal with him!" said Tidus. Yuna and Auron took Karin and Lorena away from the scene.

"What do you want now, dad?! Leave me alone! More people will get hurt if we fight, don't you even understand through your thick skull of yours!" Tidus yelled out.

"So the little kid begins to talk tough yet again...You know why I'm here, brat," the gruff man said to Tidus. Bystanders flee from the scene, knowing all too well a fight was about to break out.

"I won't let you near the key!" said Tidus, drawing out his sword, which the blade looked like it was made out of water.

"Key? Who cares about a key!...Revenge is what I want! Only I am the strongest, not you...I will not be defeated again by some kid!" the man said, flexing his gauntlet worn arm for battle.

"Oh, god...Isn't that..." said Lorena. "Yeah...The blonde haired guy is Tidus...And the other he's about to fight..Is his own father, Jecht," said Karin. Jecht raises his blade into the air and rushes to Tidus. A fire like energy engulfs the blade as he approaches his son with fury. Tidus leaps away from the attack and kicks him to the side of a bench, breaking it.

"Gah..Not bad..But I'm the greatest!" roared Jecht, getting up.

"Sorry, people! I'll find a way to pay for that!" cried Tidus. Karin then yells out, "Yeah, you better! Its private property, you know!"

"Gah! Heh he he he he...Get outta here quickly!" said Tidus, then he turns to his father, then said to him, "Now I'm gonna knock some sense into you..."

"About time! He finally starts to fight like a man...Here it comes!" said Jecht, running to his son in a charge attack. Auron and Yuna rush both Lorena and Karin away from the battle scene. "What's going on? Why are you guys looking for me? Am I really that important?" asked Karin. Auron then looked towards Yuna, then back to Karin, "We've been searching for you for days now...You are the key that will lead us to victory."

"Key? Victory to what?" asked Lorena, "What does Karin have to do with it?"

"The victory against the God of Discord..Chaos...The war has started again...You are our only hope," answered Auron. One of Karin's dreams was starting to make sense. The battle in her dream was a war of Cosmos versus Chaos, just like in her game, 'Dissidia: Final Fantasy'.

'That dream of that fight...Its really happening..' thought Karin. "I gotta get back home...I need to see if my mom is alright, and hightail it out of there," said Karin.

"I don't think its a good idea, hun. The bad guys will follow you...But if you want to gamble that..We won't hold you back," said Yuna.

"I gotta get home, too!" said Lorena. They then heard Tidus cry out in pain. Karin then rushed back to the battlefield with her taser, determined to save the hero from Final Fantasy X. Tidus crawls away from his father, but Jecht grabs hold of his hood and raises him into the air.

"Are you gonna cry? Crybaby..." Jecht said playfully. "Let...Go..Please, I beg you, dad..." groaned Tidus, begging for his life.

"That's not gonna save you...I guess I'm gonna send you back to the Farplane! Again!" Jecht leered. Tidus didn't want to die again.

Karin leaps onto Jecht's back and tasers him on the back of his neck, despite his hair in the way. "Let go of him you self-centered old bastard!!" Karin yelled out. "Hey...I say that...Dohh.." groaned Tidus with his head on the ground.

"Grahhh!! You little!! I'm the greatest! The Strongest! Get...Off!!" Jecht flings Karin off onto the ground on her back, now realizing she just made him angry.

"You dare challenge the great Jecht? I won't be able to hold back..." questioned Jecht. "You monster...No wonder you became part of Sin..." said Karin in a lone tone, "Your just a abusive brute that'll hurt anyone! Especially family! You don't even have a heart! You never did!"

Tidus lifted his head up to see what was going on, and saw that Karin was getting through to his father, but how was the question.

"I don't know how you all of a sudden know me, but this ends here! Like I said..I won't be able to hold back, I have no limits," said Jecht, "And another thing...I didn't come alone kid...Right, Guado?" A man from a far distance walks towards the scene, armed with a staff with the top like a bird-like design. the man had blue hair with two sides of his hair that sorta spiked up and dropped down. One of the bands of his blue hair spiked up, but draped down in front of his forehead.

A type of beaded necklace was around his neck, with the center danglind down his torso. A type of design was shown on his chest, but no one knew what the design meant. His robe-like outfit was open at the chest and torso in the color black with red designs on the sides of the sleeves. Tidus looked up in shock; then immediately knew who it was.

"Good to meet you again....Tidus," he said, smirking wickedly.

"No...That's not possible...Yuna sended you to the Farplane..What are you doing here, Seymour!?" screamed Tidus.

"To punish you with a familiar death...For taking Yuna away from me...Remember?" said Seymour.

"There's one more...Brat..He is very happy to finally see you again. Is he familiar to you?" said Jecht. Another man walks to the scene. Karin looks towards him and realizes something: He looks almost like Tidus. Unlike Tidus, he wore a type of outfit that had a bunch of similarities to Tidus's, but there was black and red on much of it. He looked angry and that was all that was shown.

"Remember me, Tidus?" he said to him. Tidus began to panic, then said, "No...No..How can this be??"

"Chaos revived me and Seymour from the Farplane...We want revenge, Tidus..For what you did to us," he said to Tidus. Karin immediately recognized the double. It was Shuyin.

Yuna saw the scene and panicked. Auron was shocked, "Not Seymour again..." Seymour then turns to where Yuna was standing. 'Oh, no...He sees me,' thought Yuna.

"Yuna! There you are!" Seymour said to her. Yuna hightails it out of there, but Seymour chases after her. "Yuna! Come back!" Seymour called out.

"Oh, brother.." groaned Shuyin. "Stay away from her, you...You evil weirdo with a funny blue hair!!" screamed Tidus. Shuyin stared at Tidus with a teardrop on the left side of his head, "Evil weirdo...With a funny blue hair?...What has the living become these days..."

Yuna runs from Seymour, but the chase was soon halted when she runs into a pole face first; knocking her to the ground. "Gah! Uggghhh..." she groaned, "That's gonna hurt...Wah!" Seymour arrives to the scene with his staff in hand.

"Yuna, its me..Seymour Guado...Remember?" he said, "I've come to this world to bring you back with me like it should of been long ago..."

"Your on the wrong side! I belong to Tidus, not you!" screamed Yuna, backing away from Yevon's Maester.

"Tidus might have been revived by the Fayth...But soon he'll return back to the Farplane and soon will Shuyin. They'll have all the fun they want, for an eternity," said Seymour.

Yuna draws out two handguns, aiming at the Maester. Seymour continues, "You don't need him...You wanted to make Spira happy many years ago, remember? It would be better to let that fool of the holy ruins go, and come with me. We don't want a brutal Blitzer like him to ruin your fairness." he holds out his hand to Yuna as an offering. Yuna continued to aim, but couldn't bring herself to fire. In a nick of time, Auron swings his sword at Seymour with only one arm and makes a threat of his own, "Go near Yuna...You'll go back to the Farplane where you belong."

"Auron! What are you doing here?!" Seymour panicked, not realizing that Auron was there at the park as well as Tidus and Yuna. "What? You thought I was dead?" said Auron. 'Actually...I was already dead..But Cosmos revived me to help for her cause against Chaos, silly me," he thought.

"You...I'll try my best to defeat you!" said Seynour, taking out a medium-sized dagger-based sword from his robe. 'I can't defeat Auron...He's legendary! He used to been one of High Summoner Braska's guardians, including Jecht...I won't last very long...' Seymour thought.

"Do you think you can stand out against me? I like to see you try, Guado.." said Auron. He then turns to Yuna, "Go help Tidus, he's out numbered and you got to get those two girls out of here." Yuna nods and runs back to Tidus back at the battlefield. Seymour gasps as Yuna runs away to the battlefield, "No! Yuna, come back!"

"Don't move! I thought you wanted to fight me? Just as I thought...You really are a coward," said Auron, hoping he has pressed the right buttons to anger Seymour into battle.

"Grrr...I'll show you!" roared Seymour and he charges at the legendary guardian with his blade in hand.

Karin watches as Jecht grabs Tidus by his hood and swings him into a pillar, damaging the Blitzer even more. "Guh...Why haven't you left? Go...Before..Gahhh!" Shuyin slams his right foot into Tidus's back, ceasing his sentence. "When we go back to the Farplane, I will enjoy torturing you for an eternity. You will soon feel how I felt when you defeated me!" fumed Shuyin.

"You was gonna hurt Yuna!...If you was gonna kill me...What would Lenne think about that?" said Tidus.

"You leave her out of this!!" Shuyin yelled, kicking him in the side.

"My turn yet?" asked Jecht. "It is...Make him suffer," said Shuyin, slapping his palm into Jecht's, like a tag team match. Karin had to do something, but what is the main question. Yuna arrives back to the battle scene, just in time as Tidus weakly got up.

"No..." she said to herself. "No more...I'm done, please....Let me go..." said Tidus, begging for the end of the battle. Jecht didn't listen, as always.

"Don't cry your way out of this, boy...This ends now..." said Jecht, arming himself with his sword. Karin then came up with an idea.

She grabs a heavy metal steel pipe and rushes towards the battle, and thwacks Jecht in the head, dinting the pipe in the process.

"Gahhh!! What the..?? You!" he roared in rage. 'Oh, no...I really ticked him off..' thought Karin. Shuyin rushes towards Karin, but Lorena sneaks behind Shuyin and puts him in a choke hold, refusing to let go of him. "Guh! Let...Go.." he gasped. Lorena manages to throw Shuyin to the ground, putting the first set of damage to the newly ressurected warrior. Karin swings like mad as Jecht closed in, hitting him with ease. Not armed with his sword, Jecht instead punches out at Karin, but misses as she backs up after every swing.

"Stop moving!" yelled Jecht. Karin ran out of room, she was in the middle with a pond on one side and Tidus's angry, brutal father on the other. "I got you now...Any last words before I finish you off?" he asked, ready to pounce.

"Yeah...Ready to get wet?" answered Karin. Jecht didn't care what that meant, but still he charged forward. Just as he was a few inches in front of Karin, she grabs on the strap that was around his neck that held to the gauntlet and literally karate flings him into the water, causing a big splash. "Waaahhh!!!!" screamed Jecht as he landed in the water. Karin looks towards the fallen ex-athlete and said, "So much for the great Jecht...Now he's 'sleeping with the fishes'.."

"Why you...Bwah! I'll get you!!" roared Jecht as he swam back to shore.

Just as Karin was about to turn around, Tidus grabs her and pulls her away from the area. "Hey, dad! Here's your sword!!" Tidus flings the sword at Jecht. Without noticing, the sword nails him in the head with its hilt and causes Jecht to cry out in pain and sink into the water.

"Bullseye!" said Karin. "We gotta get you out of here...Let us deal with them..Thank you for earlier..I had a feeling I needed saving back there," said Tidus. Karin nodded and went with Yuna to get out of the park. After leaving the entrance, Lorena and Karin left the rest to the trio.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" cried Karin. "I saw what you did to Jecht...That was awesome! Your tough!" said Lorena.

"What? Whacking him with the pipe, or flinging him into the pond?" asked Karin. "Both!" said Lorena. Just as they make it to the parking lot, they are confronted by a familiar person: Vivian.

"What are you doing here? We aint got time for you right now!" cried Karin. "I knew you would be here...And now I'm gonna make you suffer with my new friends...I want you gone and they offered to help me achieve that, but in return I had to help them find you," said Vivian. The two were confused.

"What new friends? When did you get friends?" asked Lorena. As soon as Lorena finished, both her and Karin hear reeves of three motorcycles heading their way.

Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz arrive at the scene on their bikes, stopping to face the two girls. "Here she is, boys...Just like I promised," said Vivian. Karin could not believe this.

"Hold on...Aren't those three in that Final Fantasy VII movie?" asked Lorena. "Yeah..Its Sephiroth's reminents: Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. What do they want?" answered Karin with a question of her own.

"There is the key! At last we found you...Our lord will decide your fate as soon as he arrives in a few moments...Til then, we'll have some fun," said Kadaj.

"Oh, no...They're the bad guys, let's get out of here!" Just as Karin grabbed Lorena's arm and turned to go to the SUV, they saw who their lord was and 'he' was coming their way with a really long sword.

Sephiroth walks to the scene, as if from a memory of a village he burned down so many years ago. The area seem to began dropping temperature, beginning to freeze. Karin knew they were no match for Sephiroth, and the only thing to do is to run.

"Oh, my god...That's the One Winged Angel!" cried Lorena. "Its Sephiroth..We gotta move!--" "What's the rush, girls?" said Loz, intercepting the two's course of evasion, "Don't you want to meet Lord Sephiroth? He's coming all this way to meet you."

"That's right, ladies...Both of you..." said Yazoo. Karin knew they were running out of time, but time was already up from the start.

Now close enough, Sephiroth grabs both of the girls' shoulders: Lorena's right and Karin's left, and spoke to them, "At long last..We have found you.." Karin and Lorena turns around to face the legendary ex-SOLDIER, looking into his aqua green eyes of ice. "I have brought a present for both of you...It is..Despair..Now you will live again as part of me," said Sephiroth, drawing out his long bladed kantana.

'We are so dead..We're no match for Sephiroth..' thought both Karin and Lorena. Before Sephiroth was about to strike, another biker runs into him and causes the swordsman to fly backwards on the pavement.

"Whoa! Where'd he come from?!" cried Lorena. Karin saw who it was, it was Cloud riding on Fenir, armed with his large-sized sword. "Stay away from her!!" Cloud roared, aiming the blade's tip at the four in front of him.

"Look...Big brother finally shows up," said Kadaj, "How long has it been?"

"Shut up!" cried Cloud. He then turns the two girls, then said, "Get outta here fast!" "You heard him! Lets go!" cried Lorena.

"Its nice to see you once again...Cloud.." said Sephiroth, rising from the ground as if nothing happend, "How is my puppet without a purpose to fight?"

"Shut up...I've had enough of you..." growled Cloud. On a stroke of luck, the Onion Knight, Bartz, and Boko arrive as back up. As the group on Boko got closer, Bartz got a close look at Sephiroth and his sword and the first thing out of his mouth was, "That is one long sword...."

"Cloud! You deal with your nemesis, while we deal with them," said Bartz. Lorena saw the scene from afar and knew Karin was not crazy from the beginning. The Onion Knight got off of the Chocobo and said, "I got Kadaj, Bartz will have Yazoo, and Boko's got Loz.."

"Alright...I guess the winds are blowing our way into battle," replied Bartz. "Hey, Kadaj...I'm gonna fight a Chocobo," said Loz.

"Oh, boy...And I got an adventurer.." said Yazoo. "Lets see what you can do, you little runt," cooed Kadaj. "Little? You know being small has its advantages, such as speed and agility," said the Onion Knight, flashing his blade.

Cloud dealt with his nemesis, Sephiroth, who stood before him without moving to his intended target. "Poor lost soul, always finding a reason to fight because you never had one...Like a puppet without a cause of its own..How sad," said Sephiroth, messing with Cloud's mind in the process.

"Its time to settle this..Once and for all, for what you did many years ago! I idolized you, Sephiroth..I wanted to be like you, but now I realize...Your nothing but a plague infecting other people like a cancer!" said Cloud.

"Your still infected...With Geo-Stigma...It seems being a SOLDIER has saved you from it, unlike those fools that stand in my way, they wither and die like a rose, poisoned from a foriegn foe," said Sephiroth.

Lorena watched helplessly, but then realized that the only way to leave is to get to Karin's car, it was the only way out of danger. Kadaj swung his blade at the Onion Knight, but he leaps in a backflip to dodge each swing with speed and quickly nails Kadaj with his own sword, using speed to cause a chain of damages onto Kadaj's body. "Gah! Why you little...Suffer with despair!" roared Kadaj.

"Here, birdy birdy....Wanna play?" said Loz, tempting Boko to strike first, but Boko wasn't that stupid. "Grrr...Come on you stupid chicken!" Loz yelled out. An anger mark appeared over Boko's head and he made a leap at Loz and scratches him with his talons.

"Gah! That's one mad bird! Wah!!" Loz screamed out as Boko pecked at him at his head, hoping to hurt him. Yazoo fires his gun at Bartz, but misses due to Bartz's speed. With his sword drawn, it magically changes to Yazoo's gun; as if mimicking him.

"What? How are you able to do that?" asked Yazoo in surprise. "Why? Because I'm known as the 'Mimic Warrior'..." answered Bartz. He then opens fire at Yazoo, but due to Yazoo's superhuman speed, he safely dodges all the attacks. Sephiroth slashes his long kantana at Cloud, who amazingly blocks it with his own weapon.

"Cease your struggle and fall into the shadows...All things must return to the planet," said Sephiroth, performing a sword technique called 'Octa-Slash', but all of the multi-quick slashes were dodged by Cloud's sword; except one that nicks his left cheek that was not protected from his blade's size.

"Your the one that won't let go! That...I pity you.." said Cloud. "Oh, please...Stop pretending to be sad," groaned Sephiroth as if envying human emotions.

Karin knew the enemy is distracted by the good guys, but there was one thing clear to her that is in plain sight: Vivian is on Chaos's side along with Sephiroth. 'That Vivian picked the wrong side...She's gonna pay in the very end...Everyone does that end up joining the bad guys,' thought Karin. She searches in her pocket for her keys as quick as possible, til she did, she then heard the car door open from her right. 'Huh? Did Lorena get in?' Karin checks the back, but to her suprise, no one was back there.

'That's odd...Maybe...Why am I all of a sudden feeling a temp change?...Oh, no...' Karin slowly looks to her right and sitting right next to her was the One Winged Angel himself: Sephiroth.

"Wha!? What do you want!!?" screamed Karin. Sephiroth turns to her, then said, "What I want...Is to take away all you cherish most and return it to the planet, including you..."

"Hold on!! Don't kill me, please!! I'll do anything if you don't kill me!! Anything!!" panicked Karin. What she said setted off alarm bells in her head. A smirk was then shown on Sephiroth's face.

"Anything?" cooed the One Winged Angel. 'Oh, god...Karin, you dummy! Now you done it! You said you'd do anything to live and he fully understood the 'Anything' part very well! Get out of there!!' she yelled to herself in her mind.

"Hold on...!! No...No!!" Karin screamed. She flees away from the legendary former hero in the back of her SUV, but then she knew that she made a critical mistake.

'You idiot! Why did you go to the back!? There's more room and he'll...Oh, god!' she cursed to herself. As soon as she landed onto the seat, Sephiroth follows with speed and pins her to it. Above her, Karin had a good view into the emotionless eyes of Sephiroth, scared of what he'll do next.

"You said you'll do anything to live...Anything..." Sephiroth cooed. Karin didn't like what he was thinking about. He loomed ever closer, staring into Karin's eyes with his own.

"No..Not this...Please...No.." whimpered Karin. She tried to move her head away from Sephiroth's as he got closer, trying to buy time for anyone to save her from this kind of torture.

"You said anything...Child..Anything...Don't resist..." said Sephiroth. 'I don't care who comes! Cloud, someone...Get this guy off me!!' Karin screamed in her mind. Just before Sephiroth made his move on Karin, Cloud quickly opens the door and yanks the former hero by his only wing and throws him out of the SUV. Karin gasped with relief, somehow an angel came to her rescue.

"Stay away from her!" Cloud yelled out. Lorena saw the whole thing from coming to the car and asked, "Are you okay?! Did he do anything bad to you!?"

"No...I thought for a minute that...Oooooohhh...." quivered Karin. "Get out of here! Now!!" cried the Onion Knight, "Your life depends on it!!" Karin took the Onion Knight's advice and started the car and hightailed it out of there.

"I'm alright...He didn't get a chance to...I tried to buy enough time for someone to save me," said Karin. "That's good...I'm sorry I didn't help...Sephiroth is deadly and I didn't want to end up dead," Lorena apologized.

"Its alright...At least you was being a wise one," said Karin.

"What caused him to advance like that? What'd you say to him?" asked Lorena. "Stupid me said that I'll do anything to live...And he fully understood the 'Anything' part to an extreme level. Oh, god...Why did I say that??--" Karin's phone rings, and immediately the two pulled over to answer it at a laundry mat. It wasn't wise to use your cellphone while driving. Karin immediately answers the phone and said, "Hello."

"Karin..Is everything alright?" a familiar voice asked. It was her mother. "I don't know anymore...Me and Lorena went to the park and another scuffle 'Final Fantasy' related like at the mall happended. I tasered, whacked with a metal pipe, and flung a tan skinned brute into a pond with my bare hands...I don't know how I did it, but it must've been the will to survive," answered Karin.

"Oh, boy...I'm glad your alright..." replied Karin's mother. "Mom...I had this feeling all day that your hiding something from me..What are you hiding?" Karin questioned her mother. A moment of silence then started, but then ended when Karin's mom said, "I knew you would ask that...I want you to come home right now..There's something I need to tell you and there's someone I want you to meet. If Lorena is with you...Make sure to drop her off first, then rush back home."

"Alright...I'll hurry as fast as this car can go...Bye," the conversation ended. "I think my mom is hiding something from me...And as soon as I drop you off at your house, I will finally find out," said Karin.

"As a matter of fact...I think my mom is hiding something too..." said Lorena. "I had a feeling about that, too at your house..." said Karin, "Let me drop you off, make sure to demand for an answer."

"I agree..You, too..We're in this together, remember that, okay?" said Lorena. Karin nodded and drove all the way back to Lorena's house.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Origin and Truth at Last: All is Revealed

**"The truth of origins can set you free..But will it lead to a soul's madness? Brought into the light of the conflict, the saints will show all, revealing a truth to the questioning key.**

**Will the truth lead to revelations? Or will it lead to despair and sorrow? To the key, there is only one way...'**

"Here we are...At least your home safe...I hope," said Karin, driving into the driveway of Lorena's house.

"God, I hope so...See you later and be careful..Remember, we're in this together," answered Lorena. Karin nodded and watched her friend walk to her front door and backed out of the driveway back to her house. Back near the parking lot back at the park, Sephiroth wonders the streets by foot while the others rode on their motorbikes, recovering from the battle earlier. Before he turned to leave the parking lot, a voice calls out to him, "Don't you hate sentimental fools like your nemesis getting in the way?"

"Garland...You found me.." said Sephiroth.

Garland wore a full suit of armor and a long, purplish cape. Unlike his counterpart, the Warrior of Light, he was pure evil with a shape-shifting weapon, no shield, and was armored at his face. "You have found the key...I'm surprised. Was it Chaos, or another fool telling ramblings to not be killed, or be infected by your curse?" asked Garland.

"We have found a really good informant...Willing to do anything to get rid of her," said Sephiroth, revealing Vivian to the evil knight.

"Her? Bwah! Such a loss for the One Winged Angel..What does this child know?" said Garland, unimpressed.

"I know where Karin lives...I sometimes go by there alot. If you guys want to head there and get rid of her, then that's the place to go," said Vivian. This peeked up Garland's interest, then moved near her. 'I didn't know this would lead to killing Karin?...But at least its to get rid of her..Its too late to go back now, if I screw up, I'm dead, I gotta find a way to please them to live,' thought Vivian.

"Tell us..Fool...Where does the key live?" Garland demanded.

Back at Karin's house, Karin arrives as quick as the car could go. She quickly gets out of the car and races to her door and opens it to see that her mother was actually waiting for her.

"Mom! Your alright!" Karin shouted, hugging her. "Oh, honey...I'm glad your safe," Karin's mom said, hugging back. The hug ended and now the seriousness began.

"Mom..I've been having this nagging feeling all day today that your hiding something...I want answers.." said Karin.

"I knew this would happen..Those guys after you, I dreaded about this war they're in..There's someone that'll explain more better than me, and to tell you something important," replied Karin's mom.

"You knew about this? Why didn't you tell me about this--" Then a voice spoke out and a hand in black grabbed hold of Karin's right shoulder, "Let me explain that to you more clearly...Karin," the man before her said calmly. Karin recognized him instantly, it was Final Fantasy IV's Cecil Harvey.

"What the? Not again...I've been through enough 'Final Fantasy' based scuffles for one day," groaned Karin. Her mother took the two to a couch in the living room near Karin's room and sat together, with Karin in the middle right next to Cecil.

"Karin...There is something I need to tell you...When your father passed away from an unknown disease?...He...Wasn't your real father," said Karin's mother, trying to find a way to start the explanation.

"What?! What do you mean? If he wasn't my real father..Then who is??" asked Karin in confusion and shock. Karin's mother places her left hand on Karin's right shoulder, trying to calm her daughter down.

"Don't be upset...He's here to explain it more clearly to you...Karin...Your real father is right next to you," said her mother.

'What?! My real father is...' Karin thought and slowly turned to Cecil, who already without no one noticing changed from dark knight to paladin. Cecil got up from his seat and went to in front of Karin and knelt down to her, "Its alright now..." he said, placing his right hand on her left shoulder.

"How's it...Alright...I got attacked by Kuja...And I had to fight off Jecht from killing his son...Plus Sephiroth showed up and almost...Oh, god..." Karin said, crying. She by instinct hugged into Cecil, now knowing that 'he' was her true father. At Lorena's house, Lorena rushes in to find her mother, but she looked in the living room and she wasn't there. "Mom!" Lorena called out. From the kitchen, her mother replied to her daughter's call, "In here! In the Kitchen!" Lorena heads into the kitchen, prepared to ask her mother very serious questions. As soon as she setted foot in the kitchen, Lorena saw something amiss from entering: Zidane sitting at the table eating a sandwich.

"What the..?? What is he doing here!?" gasped Lorena.

"Lorena, I need to tell you something...Come sit right next to Zidane," said her mother. Zidane looks up to Lorena and immediately his tail started swaying left to right like a cat. Lorena sits next to the genome, then asks, "Are you hiding something from me? I want to know..Please," Lorena demanded.

"Remember when you were young, you asked me where's your dad..And I replied that you didn't really had one..It was all a lie, honey," answered Lorena's mother, "You really do have a father, and he's with us right now.." Lorena was shocked, then turned to Zidane, realizing who her father is.

"My...Father....Is a genome??" said Lorena in shock. Zidane knew this was going to happen, and immediately he got up and went to her to calm her down, "Its gonna be alright now...I'm here now..And I will make sure those bad guys don't hurt you," Zidane said, holding Lorena in his arms.

"Does this mean...I'm a genome, too?" Lorena asked. "No...Your a hybrid. Your only half genome because your mother isn't and I am...It'll get better..I promise.." answered Zidane. Back at Karin's house, the Warrior of Light arrives to the house, with his sword and shield in hand. He sees Karin crying into Cecil's arms.

"Karin..." the Warrior of Light said. Karin immediately looks up to meet the Warrior of Light's gaze. The Warrior of Light finishes his sentence, "It is not safe here...We must get you out of here, the enemy is on the move as we speak." Karin nodded, then asked, "I need to get my things...All of it..Do I have enough time?"

"I hope so..." answered the Warrior of Light. Karin and Cecil head to her room and began packing things in suitcases and containers, making sure to get everything in the room.

Lorena and Zidane clear her bedroom from putting all of Lorena's possessions and clothing into suitcases and containers to get out of there before the enemy shows up. After finishing, Lorena then asked, "He's gonna come here...Isn't he?..I mean Kuja..."

"If I was Kuja...It would be a probability..We need to get you out of here before that happens," answered Zidane.

"How did you meet my mom?..I'm curious," asked Lorena. Zidane knew there wasn't enough time, but he had to answer her, from his memory as best as he can.

After making the room vacant and bare, Karin sat on her bed with Cecil, then asked, "How did you meet my mom? I wanna know through you..." Cecil knew he had to tell the truth, and he answered, "I somehow managed to come here from Baron..I was curious about this realm and all of a sudden I was drawn to a fair lady sitting alone at a park in my travels."

"My mom?" asked Karin. "Yes...I am certain...She knew I wasn't from here and asked where I came from. I told her through honesty that I was from another realm..From Baron. She listened and asked me for my name. I answered by telling her my name, 'Cecil'," answered Cecil, imagining the scene from a distant memory.

"One night, I was in the form of a dark knight, walking around this house to see if I could find her, but I knew stalking was wrong in this world..Its against the law here so I turned around and left, but then I heard her voice call out to me. She said in the sweetest voice I ever heard, 'I knew you'd come...Which one are you, a dark knight...Or a paladin?' My answer was 'Both'. I turned to paladin and went inside with her," said Cecil. Karin was wide-eyed, then said, "I think I already know the rest..For the rest of the night, there was love..Right?"

"I guess I don't have to reveal the rest of it...When I get a chance to visit you from Baron...Its always when your asleep at night..It wasn't the right time to tell you the truth," said Cecil. Karin's second dream then started to make sense. It was trying to tell her of Cecil.

"I was roaming this realm for a long while when I first got here," said Zidane, "As a thief...I always manage to get what I can take. As I was trying to get into a pawn store, 'she' caught me and said to me 'You know stealing is against the law.' My reply was at the time was 'I'm a thief...Its all I know, its a way to survive for me...' I didn't get in, but just left the scene, because she saw me trying to break in and if I tried to, she'll get the authority after my tail."

"A theif? No wonder your so quick on your feet, theives need to be to get away," said Lorena.

"That's right...I lose everything when it comes to women...That's what happened that day. A few more days later, I was recovering from a dog attack at that same pawn store, I didn't know there were guard dogs there, but they bit me pretty bad," said Zidane.

"Why didn't you go to a doctor? What if those dogs had Rabies or something??" asked Lorena.

"Look at me...The only thing inhuman of my appearance is a tail. I patched my own wounds, til she saw me again. She knew I tried to break into that same place, and said to me, 'You tried to break in there, again. I bet someone didn't tell you there was guard dogs there...I better get you to a doctor to look at those wounds.' I told I didn't need no doctor, but still she convinced me. I was lucky the dogs didn't have anything bad that'll infect me, so she brought me here to this house to recover further. I knew I couldn't stay, but at least I can recover further," answered Zidane, continuing his story.

"Did my mom check on your wounds like a nurse from a hospital?" asked Lorena. "Yes, she even made sure they didn't get infected. It was painful washing them out, but its the price to pay. One night, under a full moon, she saw what I looked like in Trance, but instead of running, she stayed and looked; as if curious. 'Is that what you really look like?' she asked me. My answer was, 'I'm not human...I'm a genome, a humanoid synthesized vessel used to become a angel of death on Gaia...' I had to explain all that to her, then she said, 'The fur looks good on you...' I actually chuckled at that comment, then....Well..." said Zidane, not knowing if he should continue.

"Oh, boy...I don't wanna know the rest...There was L-O-V-E that whole night...Wasn't there?" asked Lorena.

"I guess I don't have to tell you...Every chance I get without Kuja chasing me...I visit here, making sure your safe. If something happened to you...I'd kill myself," answered Zidane. Lorena's dream was starting to make sense. In it, It was Zidane that held her, and no one else. As if by instinct, Lorena leans into Zidane and stayed like that for a peaceful fifteen minutes.

"Karin said one time...That Kuja is your brother by blood...Is that true?" Lorena asked.

"Unfortunately..He is...We were made by the same creator, but pure opposites," answered Zidane.

Karin looked through her window, then turned to Cecil, then asked, "You have a brother...Don't you?"

"Yes..He's older than me," answered Cecil. "His name is Golbez...Isn't it?" Karin asked again. Cecil knew where this was leading. "Yes...It seems he's on no one's side...I don't trust him, but I do care about him."

"I'm so scared...I don't know what to do.." Karin groaned in sadness. The Warrior of Light arrives in the room, making sure not to interrupt the peaceful moment between father and daughter. As soon it was over, he cleared his throat, making both of them turn to him.

"We must go..." he said. Cecil and Karin walks out of the room with the things in the containers and suitcases. They take it to the SUV and then return to the house and prepare their plan with all of them to get out safely.

"How are we gonna do this?" asked Karin, "We can't have the enemy finding us.."

"True...We must find a way to our base as soon as possible..You will be safe there with the rest of us--" before the Warrior of Light finished, a type of segmented blade crashed into the building, aiming at both Karin and the Warrior of Light. "Look Out!" cried Cecil.

In order to protect her only daughter at the cost of her life, Karin's mother blocks the attack with her body as a shield. It hitted her in the abdomen, a very critical and fatal area. "Mother!! No!!" screamed Karin. Cecil stood in shock, unable to move from the loss of his beloved from the past. The Warrior of Light looked to where the attack came from and a familiar foe that wielded the blade.

"Bah...I missed, oh well..." growled Garland. "Garland!!" yelled the Warrior of Light.

"Oh, no...Not Garland.." said Cecil. "Like I said....There is no escape from the cycle of battle, no matter how hard you try to flee from it!" roared Garland.

"Mom! You armored freak!" screamed Karin, "I'm gonna slaughter you!!" Cecil stops Karin's path in a nick of time.

"No! Your no match for Garland! Hide! Now!" said Cecil. Karin had a gut feeling that he would say that, and fled into her room for safety.

"How dare you! I will make you pay for this, Garland...I will avenge her mother's death!" said the Warrior of Light. A familiar voice to Cecil then was heard, "Envious fool...Your efforts will all be for naught," the two warriors for Cosmos turned to the voice's location and comes across another knight levitating to them.

Appearing as a fully armored, demented-like knight, his armor was mostly in shades of black and dark grey with tints of dark navy blue, including his cape. Yellow designs were seen, also some of the stripes and the very palms of the knight's hands. His shoulder guards that held the cape on his shoulders from falling had curled spikes rising from the center. More of the yellow striped lines were also seen on the knight's helm, with the horn-like spikes demented sticking out.

"No...Your on the wrong side again, brother!" said Cecil, turning into his dark knight form, armed with his spear-like weapon.

"I don't have a choice at this matter, Cecil....If I don't fulfill Chaos's wishes..He himself will kill everyone I hold dear, even you, my dear brother," the knight said. It was Golbez, Cecil's older, more armored brother.

Lorena continued to lean on Zidane, til they hear her mother scream in fear. "What the!?" said Zidane. He and Lorena rush to the living room to find Lorena's mother trying to flee from something. When Zidane saw what it was, he began to panic. In front of the hole in the kitchen stood, or levitating, a demented clown in bright colored clothes. He was in nature psychotic.

"There you are! I'm gonna make sure I destroy this place completely!" the clown cackled.

'No...Its Kefka...' thought Zidane. Just as he was about near the front door, the door blows inward and knocks Zidane onto his feet, but able to dodge the sudden attack.

Kuja levitated in, and in a sing song voice, he said, "I've come back for you...Zidane..."

"Kuja's back..." gulped Lorena. From the left side of Lorena from a far distance, the wall explodes from a type of energy attack. As Lorena looked to where the source came from, she was shocked by the appearance of one of them. The first was a silver haired woman with a red cape and a type of sleeves with patches of purple on them the cape was connected to. A type of design was shown on her body like clothing in colors of red, yellow, and black. A red diamond-like design was shown on her forehead. The last thing of her appearance was two vine-like creatures moving on their own from her sides, but was part of her form.

The final detail was that she had two spaced circle designs around her right calf near her ankle. "We lust...To destroy! All things will return to the Void," she said, hovering closer. The second was a man with a spiky top long blonde hair. He wore armor of gold and armed with a staff-like sceptor of demonic origin. Only the belt and ankle guards had ornaments of skulls and a long, purple cape. "If there's anyone fit to shine...It is I and I alone," he said.

'Oh, no...The Cloud of Darkness...Emperor Mateus...We're dead, but I won't quit fighting!' thought Zidane. "I won't let you come closer!!" Zidane called out. The Emperor began to chuckle, "On the contrary, my genome friend...We will come closer," said Mateus.

Karin hid in her room as the Warrior of Light and Cecil contend with Golbez and Garland, emotionally unstable. She was furious that it was Garland that killed her mother and she wanted him to pay, but how? She remembered the taser and also remembered that it would be more effective on Garland because of one thing: He was wearing armor and the armor was made out of metal. Garland pins the Warrior of Light to the wall, preparing for one final move.

"I'm going to enjoy this...And crush you to a pulp!" said Garland, raising his blade. Karin saw an opening and tasered Garland near his neck, causing more damage than on either Kuja or Jecht separate.

"Gaaaaaahhhhhh!!!! It hurts!!!" screamed Garland. The Warrior of Light couldn't believe this, Karin knew the advantage with the taser against Garland and used it to save his life.

"You sick monster!! Die!!" screamed Karin, now blinded with rage of pure hatred for Garland. Golbez backed off, now realizing he'll be the next target. "Karin!" cried Cecil. Garland struggled to fend off Karin armed with a taser, but he then backed into a wall and rammed her off his back.

"Gah! Ughhh..." groaned Karin. She laid on the floor dazed, unable to get back up.

"Stupid child!! I'll crush you!!" roared Garland, but before he turned around, an arrow pierces his back, causing him to falter forward. Firion arrives just in time. "Stay away from her, Garland!!" Firion called out. The battle continued, but then Garland made a critical decision, "Golbez! We're out numbered...Let's get out of here and regroup!" Golbez acknowledged this and left the area along with Garland.

"Get back here!" cried Firion. "Firion..." said Cecil, turning him to a stunned Karin. The three move towards Karin.

"We already got her things in her car, but none of us don't know how to drive," said Cecil. "I think I can...From watching that is..Lets go before more show up," said Firion.

Karin groaned, trying to fight off Cecil and the Warrior of Light. "No...I don't want anymore of this...Mom...No.." she said in sadness. Her mother's body laid a few feet away from her, covered with blood. "Mom...No..." Karin continued to whimper. "Its okay, its gonna be alright...We need to get out of here before enemy reinforcements arrive," said the Warrior of Light. "No...Please...Enough..." Karin was cut off with Cecil shushing her quietly, calming her down, "We need to leave now...I'm sorry, but there's nothing more we can do..." Firion arrives back to the house, "Alright...Let's go.." Both the Warrior of Light and Cecil lift Karin and carried her to her own car, parting with her mother's body.

"No...Let me go...I don't wanna go.." Karin whimpered.

Back at Lorena's house, Lorena was laying dazed on the floor, trying to get up, but didn't have the strength to. Zidane limps to her, holding her in his arms crying.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save her...I'm so sorry Lorena..." said Zidane, crying a stream of tears. The Onion Knight and Terra arrive at the scene, knowing they didn't make it in time, a mistake that the Onion Knight severely blames on himself.

"Oh, god...Its my fault! If I wasn't too focused on finding the cure for Geo-Stigma, then this wouldn't have happen..Its all my fault!" said the Onion Knight, further blaming himself.

"Don't blame yourself...You lost track of time...Your just trying to help those infected with it.." said Zidane, trying to calm the young warrior.

"Don't you get it!! Its my fault! If I wasn't too focused then this wouldn't happen! I'm the one to blame and no one else!" said the Onion Knight, still blaming himself.

"I was out numbered...I tried to protect her mother...But they were tough to get past..." said Zidane. Lorena was not mad nor sad, she knew Zidane was unfairly out numbered and knew this was eventually gonna happen.

"We need to get out of here before more show up..." said Terra. "My car...Its not working right now, but--" "Not working? I'll go fix it up. I'll hurry as fast as my hands can go," said the Onion Knight, heading to the Coupe and fixes what's making it not work.

"Is he a genius or something?" asked Lorena. "He's very smart...I believe so..." answered Terra. Terra knelt down to Lorena and hugged her in comfort, "I'm so sorry...Even if the Onion Knight blames himself, I already had a feeling this was going to happen...I'm so sorry, honey...I am so sorry."

Lorena held onto Terra, crying into her arms. Zidane cried as well. After a good five minutes, the Onion Knight returns with good news. "I got the car fixed! The engine had a few problems to it, but now its all clear to drive again," he said.

"Good, but she's the only one that can drive, but she's in no condition to," said Zidane. As the group entered the Coupe, it was Terra that had to drive.

"I'll sit in front with you for help, okay?" said the Onion Knight, "Let's make sure we don't speed, or we'll be in big trouble."

"Your a smart one, Onion...You'll think of something," said Zidane. "And I'll make sure not to tell them your a thief.." said the Onion Knight.

Driving away from the scene, Firion carefully checks the car's speed. If he was speeding, then they're finished. The Warrior of Light sat next to Firion, while Cecil stayed in the back with Karin.

"guhhh..." Karin groaned. "Go ahead and rest, sweetheart...You've been through enough for one day," said Cecil, stroking Karin's forehead.

"Hey..Its Squall! I think he needs a ride," said Firion. "Lets give him one, then," answered the Warrior of Light. They stopped for Squall and the mercenary hopped into the back with Cecil and Karin.

"So this is the key?" asked Squall. "That's right..." said Cecil. Squall then asked another question, "Does she know about you?"

"Yes, she does now," answered Cecil. Karin briefly opened her eyes to a new voice, seeing Squall in the process.

"Your....Your...Squall...Leonhart..." Karin said, falling back to sleep. "She knows you," said Cecil.

"I think she knows all of us for some reason," answered Squall. As they got near a abandoned road to their hideout, Firion sees something that was bizarre to him: Terra driving a car.

"When did miss Brandford learn how to drive?" asked Firion. "With guidance by her companion right next to her..Let's go," answered Warrior of Light. One at a time, they pull into the driveway down to their base of operations and to think of a plan against the God of Discord's foot soldiers, leaded by none other than his right hand man, Garland.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Sanctuary from the Conflict

**'Unsure of ones self, the key becomes distressed. A new set of allies are revealed by the saints to the key for their efforts of the war.**

**Rejuvenating in a harmonious light, the key rests in a sanctuary, protected by a Goddess of Light...'**

Driving down the abandoned road one behind the other, the two groups make it to their hideaway. As Terra, the Onion Knight, Zidane, and Lorena made it to pull in into the sandy dirt driveway, Terra becomes distressed.

"Your doing good..Just carefully turn the steering wheel to the left and you'll get in alright," the Onion Knight instructed, soothing Terra's distress. She does as he told her and made it in. Few minutes later, the SUV approaches the driveway. Arriving to the scene, Bartz rode on Boko accompanied by Tidus and Wakka.

"Hey! You guys got back!" Bartz called out. "Hey! Hold on...When did Firion learn how to drive?" asked Tidus.

"Just now..Why?" Firion answered. Squall notices a cut on Karin's right arm near her shoulder.

"Looks like she got cutted, but by what?" asked Squall. "Either glass, or Garland...I hope its not Garland," sighed Cecil.

"Garland...You saw him?" asked Squall. "We had to fight him off, including my brother, Golbez. She tasered Garland with good results," answered Cecil.

"Its obvious...His armor is made out of metal..Metal conducts electricity," said Squall. Without them knowing, Tidus peers into the back of the SUV.

"Oh, no...Is she alright!?" he asked. "She's stunned...But okay..I hope," said Cecil. Bartz and Wakka arrive at the scene. "Oh, no..Lets get her inside, ya," said Wakka. As both Tidus and Wakka began to lift her from the car, Karin attacks, but still not fully recovered from the 'Garland' attack. "No, no, no, no, we're not the bad guys, its okay its okay," Tidus said to calm Karin down. "She's tough...Reminds me of Lulu," said Wakka as a complement. From a far distant, they hear a voice say, "I heard that.." The two turn to where the voice came from. It was Lulu walking towards them, but stops a few inches away.

"Sorry!" said Wakka. Karin tries to fight, but then was calmed down when Boko arrived with Bartz on his back, chirping and cooing at Karin. Karin pets Boko, then falls back to sleep. Inside the shack, the Onion Knight takes a look at Lorena's wounds carefully, making sure he didn't miss anything fatal.

"These are deep cuts, but still not serious.." he said as he stitched the deep cuts up, "Your lucky Zidane was there...Still I feel terrible on not making it there on time when needed...You saw her, didn't you? The Cloud of Darkness."

"Yeah, a silver haired woman with vines sticking out of her sides..I saw her.." groaned Lorena, "Is Karin alright? Is she okay?"

"She's here right now...We need to look at her if she's got wounds. Through the Warrior of Light, they got attacked by both Garland and Golbez and Karin's mother didn't survive. She sacrificed her life to protect Karin..A noble sacrifice we will not let go in vain," said the Onion Knight, "The important thing for you to do at this point is to recover...And stay safe." Lorena nods to the young warrior's advice, and remained where she laid til she recovered. As soon as the Onion Knight arrived and examined Karin for wounds, he only saw a small cut across her right cheek and the cut across her arm near her shoulder that Squall noticed.

"Amazing...Only those two cuts and that's all...It seems Cosmos's grace has protected her from Garland," he awed. Karin opens her eyes, seeing the Onion Knight looking at her wounds. Tidus noticed she was awake, then asked "You okay, now?" Karin stuttered, then silenced. "'Everything's alright now...We got you away from those bad guys.." said Tidus. Karin turns to face the young child in a knight-like helmet and dressed in red, orange, and yellow.

"Your lucky to be alive...It seems Cosmos was watching over you...Go ahead and rest..You need it more than anything at this point," said the Onion Knight. Karin falls back to slumber.

A few hours go by as the evening light shined through a window into Karin's face. Karin then woke up, then noticed she was in another room. 'Where am I??' she thought, but was too weak to explore. She then felt something behind her cuddling close, something with 'feathers'. She looks behind her and spots a big yellow bird laying with her. It was Boko, the Chocobo. 'Aww..Such a sweet Chocobo...' thought Karin as she turned around to Boko and snuggled up to the Chocobo. Fifteen minutes later, Cecil comes in to check on his daughter, noticing that she was cuddling up to Boko. 'Aww...That Boko,' Cecil thought, 'Such a sweet Chocobo...' Moving towards the bed, Cecil gives Karin a hug, but lightly to not wake her up, "I'm so sorry...If there was more to do for her...I'd do it...But there wasn't, I'm so sorry..." Cecil whispered lightly, shedding a single tear in Karin's cheek.

Karin also cried in her sleep, along with Cecil. Firion walks into the room, quietly to not disturb the scene. After Cecil got up, Firion finally speaks, "She's gonna be alright...I know this pain all too well,"

"Back at Fynn...When Mateus used a Cyclone there and your parents didn't make it, but you.." said Cecil, knowing Firion all too well. "Yes...Lorena said she saw the Emperor...Along with the Cloud of Darkness, Kuja, and Kefka...How did they know to go there?" asked Firion. Karin then said in her sleep, "...Vivian..." "Huh? Are you still awake?" asked Cecil.

"Who?" asked Firion. "..Vivian...She wants me dead, she's on the sides of Sephiroth and Chaos...She knew our addresses..That's why," answered Karin.

"A poor lost soul tainted with poison...That's how they got to two different places...I think the Warrior of Light will except this kind of answer, he's been troubled by this all day since we got back," said Cecil.

"You go ahead...I'll stay with her.." said Firion. Cecil then walks out of Karin's room and heads a flight of stairs up to the Warrior of Lights room. As he entered, the knight stood in front of the wall, pondering something.

'How did Garland get there...?? How did he know?' he thought. "Warrior of Light...Are you still curious about the enemy all of a sudden showing up at Karin's and Lorena's house?" asked Cecil, breaking the knight's thought.

"Yes...How did they know to go there? Was it Chaos?" answered Warrior of Light.

"Actually...According to Karin, a girl named 'Vivian' is in leagues with Sephiroth and Chaos. She knew both of the girls' address and there's your answer," answered Cecil.

"Tainted by the darkness...She cannot be saved. I understand clearly now...How is she?" asked the Warrior of Light.

"Karin's resting well..Boko and Firion are in there with her," answered Cecil. "Good...I'm glad that she is resting well from this traumatizing event," said the Warrior of Light.

Karin shifts allittle in the bed right next to Boko and Firion. Another dream began to envelope her, but this dream was far more different than the previous two. In her dream, she is in a bedroom wearing a robe-like white night gown. Older than she is in reality, she looks out the bedroom window at night, under the dim light of the full, silver colored moon. She knew she was in a town, a familiar town from one of her Final Fantasy games. It was the Town of Fynn, the hometown to Firion from Final Fantasy II. Karin peers out into the busy town streets as people walks to their homes for the night.

'Its so beautiful...' Karin said in the dream.

Just as she was about to return back to the bed, covers folded and placed neatly on the sheets like as if a maid was doing room service and fixed the bed, she spots a man walk into the room with over seven weapons, placing the weaponry onto the floor, including his bow. It was Firion, but a dream version of him. As if acting as what the dream wanted her to do against Karin's will, Karin's spirit watches the whole scene unfold, not wanting to interrupt the lovely scene.

'Its a full moon outside..Did you see it?' asked Firion, moving closer to her. 'Its very beautiful..And romantic as well,' the dream Karin said to Firion.

'But not as beautiful as you...More beautiful than the moon itself, more beautiful than the whole town of Fynn. Tonight is very perfect on a special occasion...Just the two of us...Alone,' said Firion, stroking his right hand across Karin's right shoulder. The dream Karin giggled softly, then moved forward to the warrior before her. The dream soon ends, causing Karin to come back to reality and wake up fully. Feeling anxious, she soon calms down by seeing Boko in front of her. Karin then by instinct turned to the back, spotting Firion behind her asleep.

'It was all a dream...But why with Firion?..What is going on?' thought Karin. The night turned to day as the sun's harmonious light shined into the window in Karin's face and Boko's, but Firion wasn't there. He already woke up earlier to help Cosmos's cause in the war.

Boko grunted in anger as the sun shunned on his feathered face. He immediately rises his head and turns to Karin, who was covering her face from the sun. He chirps and removes the cover on Karin's face, lightly pecking her awake, telling her its time to wake up.

"Guh..Not now...Let me sleep in for a few more hours.." groaned Karin, shielding her face from the sun. Boko fluttered his feathers, taking no excuses from Karin for not waking up. Boko then playfully strokes his right wing on Karin's face, instantly causing her to sneeze.

"Ah...Ah...Ahhh Chooo!! Darn it Boko..." sneezed Karin, not too happy to wake up. Boko chirps, stating to Karin that there is no excuse to oversleep. The Onion Knight walks into the room, then turned to Boko with a peeved look, "Silly Chocobo..She still needs time to recover..Let her sleep allittle more." Boko chirped in a way of saying 'I didn't know..'

"Hold on...I need to check on your wounds to make sure they're healing properly before you go back to sleep again," said the Onion Knight, turning to Karin.

"Oh...." said Karin. Carefully removing the bandage around her arm where the cut was underneath, the Onion Knight carefully examines it, making sure to not miss anything important of its healing process.

"Errr...It hurts..But I'll manage.." said Karin, biting the bullet through the pain. She knew this was the price to pay for attacking Garland. "Hmmm...Its healing really good...No infection is present, that's good...Its healing really good," said the Onion Knight. "It is? That's good...I'm...I'm sorry..I shouldn't have fought Garland.." said Karin.

"Don't worry...The Warrior of Light told me all what happened. You should be proud you saved his life from Garland," said the Onion Knight.

"I almost got killed...I got angry and wanted to kill Garland..But..." Karin said. She then felt sharp pain hit her wound and realized the Onion Knight was cleaning the wound out with water and rubbing alcohol.

"Everyone gets blinded with rage...It wasn't your fault, but know this in the future ahead, if you become blinded with anger and rage; you'll be blinded from proper judgement and make you do things you'll regret for the rest of your life," said the Onion Knight, advising Karin about anger. Karin nodded and grinned and bared it through the pain. Boko lowered his head on Karin, comforting her through the pain of cleaning the wounds out. After the task was done and the wounds fully cleaned out and covered, Bartz comes in and said, "You up, Boko?" Boko chirped with excitement and waddles his way to his human companion.

"One of these days your care-free ways will get you killed..." said the Onion Knight under his breath.

"Your just saying that because you already lost your sense of adventure...Have fun for once," said Bartz. "At least I'm the smart one to take things seriously...I don't wanna fight with you because we're on the same side, so it'd be wise to you, Bartz, to take situations seriously," said the Onion Knight, trying not to pick a fight with the adventurer.

"You need to loosen up...That's all..I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you, so me and Boko are off; then," said Bartz, hopping in the saddle on Boko's back and riding off.

"It seems you two don't get along too well..." said Karin. "Its just a personality clash. I bet you suspect more to it," said the Onion Knight. "Sorta...But its not any of my business, anyways.." said Karin.

"True...Its all done, you can get some more rest now to recover further," said the Onion Knight, clearing away the things used to clean out Karin's wounds from the room. Karin covers back up and returns to her sleep. After a few more hours of sleep, Karin is aroused from sleep by foot steps that was like it was from an animal. With her new recovered strength, Karin slowly gets up from the bed and before going tp the door, she sees a shadow of something go across the hall.

'What the..?? Who's out there?' Karin thought. She carefully opened the door to peer outside, seeing a very shocking sight. Moving down the hallway to a flight of stairs stood what appeared to be a werewolf with dark grey fur on its body and a silver colored mane acting like hair. Its claws were as black as the night sky at this hour. Horns were shown on its head curled to point at one another. It also wore tethered black pants with a kind of red cloak-like belt around its waist. Karin made sure not to be seen by it, but what she saw next all of a sudden clicked together.

A black colored aura surrounded the creature and it immediately changed form into a man, as if the moon was covered, or he really wasn't a 'Werewolf'. The man wore a black outfit accompanied with a blood red cloak\cape held onto him with straps and buckles. A holster for a gun was straped to his waist like a belt, holding a three barreled revolver in it. The headband around his forehead was as red as his cape and cloak. His hair was a little more longer than Jecht's and the same color, but it was more messier and it covered over his headband and his crimson eyes. Gold plates were seen on his boot-like shoes, and wore the same gold metal in a fashion of a gauntlet on his right arm.

'Oh, god...That's Vincent Valentine....What is he doing here?' thought Karin. Vincent doesn't turn around, but continues up the stairs and headed to a room with a design on it in a shape of a lightning bolt and went inside. Karin quietly walked towards the door, til she heard a voice yell out, "Dang it!! I just had this thing fixed twice yesterday! Not again!" Karin peeks into the room, which was revealed to be a computer room with radars and many other technological machinery. She spots a blonde spike haired man with goggles strapped to his forehead and a spear at the corner in the room. He wore a black, greyish jacket and the same colored shoes and pants.

"Calm down, Cid...You've fixed it before, you'll fix it again," said a dark skinned man with black hair. The big, burly man weilded a machine gun kind of weapon to his arm. He wore a fishnet shirt and a white colored open jacket and pants, including black shoes. Two women in the side corner with black hair giggle to themselves. One of the two wore black all the way to her shoes and gloves, including a few things of white. The second wore a kind of outfit that was colored with both white and black with no sleeves and straps near the sleeve area. Cloud was in the room as well, enjoying their company.

'Oh..God...These guys are all from Final Fantasy VII..Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Barret, Cid, Vincent..' Karin's thought was cut off of two new people who was hidden from her sight.

One of them had long, spiky-like red hair pulled in a pony-tail with a kind of tattoo below his eyes. He wore a kind of suit-like outfit with a tie and an open jacket in black, including his shoes and pants. The second was wearing the same thing as the red head, but more formal and wore pitch black shades and aliitle more darker skin; including black gloves.

'Plus Reno and Rude...' Karin finished. "Did you get a chance to take on Sephiroth yet?" asked Reno, the red head.

"To protect the key, yeah, but I didn't get a chance to defeat him," answered Cloud.

"Til the final battle...You'll get your chance for redemption," said Vincent, folding his arms across his chest.

"I hope so..." said Cloud. Tifa walks to Cloud and gives a friendly punch in his left arm and said, "You'll nail him, I know you will." Cid makes repairs to the radar, then said, "Alright..Its back online again..Lets just pray that it doesn't breakdown again, or I'm gonna make another one..Which will take more than a week."

"Heh heh.." said Vincent. "Oh hush up, Vince..Always cold..." said Cid. Reno chuckled, then caught sight of Karin at the door, 'Uh, oh! He saw me!' Karin thought, backing away.

"Huh? Hey, there's someone at the door," said Reno. Cloud and the others face the door. Karin backed into the rail and yelled out, "Please don't hurt me! Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!" She falls backwards from the steps and lands on the floor below, flat on her back.

"Gahhhh....Dang it...Guh!" Karin noticed that the guys all came out, looking down the stairs towards her. "Karin! Hang on, don't move til we get down there," said Cloud, rushing down the stairs. Vincent leaps from the top of the stairs over the rail and down to her, beating Cloud and the others to Karin.

"Don't move...We don't know if you broke something," said Vincent. Karin was panicking til more of them arrived. After a long assessment, Karin was only stunned, no broken bones at all. Karin immediately faints in fright, right in Cloud's arms.

"Oh, boy...Did we really scare her that bad?" asked Reno. "I think we did," answered Rude.

"She'll be fine...I'll take her to her room, and besides...I already knew she would follow me," said Vincent, picking Karin up and taking her back to her room.

After an hour of slumber, Karin begins to stir. "Guhh...Where am I now..." she groaned quietly. Karin opens her eyes and looks around her surroundings. She was back in her room, and into safety. She sighed in relief, but that relief was quickly shattered when Vincent spoke to her, "So your the key Cosmos was talking about?" Karin immediately stiffed up, then turned to the right side of her room to come face to face with Vincent Valentine. "Calm down...We're on the same side..." Vincent said, trying to calm Karin down.

She tried to calm down, but then Reno walks in, worried about her. "Hey...Your okay..That was some nasty fall earlier..Why was you there anyway in the first place?"

"I...I..." Karin stammered. Cloud walks in, then said, "Your scaring her again, guys...Let me handle this." Both Reno and Vincent leave the room one at a time.

"I was worried about her, Strife...She did had a nasty fall back there," whined Reno. "I know.." answered Cloud. Karin began to relax, knowing for sure Cloud wouldn't hurt her, because much earlier he saved her from Sephiroth.

"Its alright...They're with me. I guess Vincent was right..You followed him," said Cloud.

"I'm sorry..." said Karin. With a sigh, Cloud then said, "I bet you need even more rest...Even though you recovered alright earlier, but now you putted more damage to yourself from that fall. Your lucky you didn't break either your back or your neck." Karin nodded. She had to make sure she stayed in bed for now. Against her will of thought, she said, "I'm sorry..." Cloud was confused, "Sorry for what?"

"Your friend...I don't know how I know...But I'm sorry for what happened to your friend and what Sephiroth did to your village," said Karin.

"You...Know that?" asked Cloud. Karin knew she said something she shouldn't have said, then said, "Forget what I said. I have no right to say things like that to people that maybe personal. I'm sorry.." She knew Cloud was gonna get angry and she braced for it, but instead the opposite happened.

"I guess...We share something in common..What its like to lose those we care about, its alright..I won't forget your words," said Cloud.

"Hope you make Sephiroth pay...Right?" asked Karin. Cloud nodded. He already knew if he was still alive, his battles with the One Winged Angel will continue, but he didn't care, he's taken Sephiroth down many times before.

"Get some rest, okay? Don't overdo it," said Cloud. Karin had to be obedient now. She vowed to herself that she will stay in bed till she recovers. A familiar sadness overtook her, a sadness for her mother.

'Mother...I'm sorry...Don't worry, Garland will pay for this, either by me or the Warrior of Light...I'm so sorry I caused this..' Karin then began to cry, then another thought overtook her, 'I don't want to be part of this war anymore...I wanna leave here, but they risked everything to find me and protect me...I can't just leave them...But I didn't have a say to be part of this...I don't want anything to do with this anymore,' Karin cried herself to sleep for the rest of the night and further slept through the day ahead.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Run With Despair and A New Revelation For Tommorrow

**'Filled with remorse, the sadened wanderer flees the light of Sanctuary. Wanting no more bloodshed and war, the key travels with sadness and remorse, companions of the past.**

**Overcoming the past is no simple task, for only a Goddess will light the way to a new tommorow of happiness...'**

The cresent moon shined in the light as night continued through out the town. After sleeping for the rest of the night and all day today, Karin couldn't take this anymore. She had a nagging fear that if anyone was close to her, they'll die by the foot soldiers of Chaos. She wants to escape, but without no one noticing.

'If I stay here, these people will die...I can't allow that, even Lorena..I'm so sorry guys..I know you risked everything to find and protect me,' thought Karin, 'But this isn't what I want. I don't want anymore people dying because of me. I just want my old life back...'

Karin quietly makes her way out of her room and heads to the door of the shack. She knows her stuff is still in the car, because the others didn't get it out, but was more worried for her and her woumds from Garland. Karin moves swiftly, but quietly to her car and turns her key to start it. After a couple of tries, the car reeves to life and she pulls out of the driveway out onto the road behind her.

'I'm sorry..But I don't want anymore of this...Forgive me if you can...I don't care anymore, I just want to return to my normal life, nothing more..' thought Karin as she drove away into the night, away from the hideout for Cosmos's soldiers.

Driving away as fast as the car can go without speeding, Karin drives the lonely road with a song from her favorite soundtrack playing a song titled "Cosmos" from 'Your Favorite Enemies'. The moon sank into the horizon, revealing a sunrise as she continued to drive far away from the hideout. Her thought turned to her father, Cecil, then to the others that risked everything to protect her. Next it turned to a memory of when she saved Tidus from his own brutal father, Jecht, and a memory of saving Zidane from Kuja til backup arrived. The memories continued to haunt her. 'This is happening...Because of me...I need to vanish somehow...I...I don't wanna be found, I'm done...Just let me go...' thought Karin.

It was now 7:30 in the morning and Karin was growing weary from driving all night. She spots a nearby vacant building and stops there for the night in the parking lot. It was now 11:35 almost to noon and everyone on Cosmos's side was awake and alert doing their normal tasks, that is until they hear Cecil scream in panic.

"Oh, no!! She's gone!!" screamed Cecil. Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushes to Cecil, including the Warrior of Light. "She must've ran away last night while we were asleep...This is not good!" panicked Cecil.

"I had a good feeling this was going to happen..." said Firion, "Yesterday after Garland and Golbez fled, she was so upset and said that she didn't want anymore of this...That's probably why."

"I'm afraid for her safety to herself and from the enemy. She's so upset about all this that...Oh, god...I don't want to think about it," said Cecil. Lorena, now fully recovered, then said, "We gotta find her! I'm worried about her as well..."

"I'll go look for her...Boko's worried about her, too," said Bartz, "I'll come back with her..Until then, I won't return til we're coming back together and that is a vow."

"Be careful, Bartz...The enemy is still out there...If you encounter any of them, including Exdeath, run.." said the Warrior of Light. "Alright, let's go, Boko!" said Bartz.

Boko chirped with determination and both him and his human companion rush out to find Karin. Back in the parking lot, Karin was asleep in the back. Another dream then began to envelope her, but this dream was like a messege, or a vision that Karin can move and act without her mind taking control. She was in the same battlefield of her first dream, but it was all quiet and the rushing of water under her feet was heard with a swishing sound. Karin looked around her surroundings, til she heard a female voice speak to her. The voice was soothing and calm, the sweetest voice she has ever heard.

'Karin...Come this way...Young one..." said the voice, directing Karin to the voice's location. Karin immediately turned around, spotting a woman dressed in a white, sleeveless dress that covered her feet and had designs of gold on it. She wore golden bracelets on both wrists and had long, wavy blonde hair. A type of see-through transparent shawl was worn around her arms and shoulders. Karin immediately knew who the woman was. It was Cosmos herself, the Goddess of Harmony.

'Your...Your the Goddess of Harmony, aren't you? Cosmos?' asked Karin, 'Why am I part of your war against Chaos? I didn't want any part of it..I was having a normal life til this happened, Why!?'

Cosmos could sense the anguish and sadness in Karin instantly, then replied, "Everyone has a special role in their life..A role they do not know til it happens. From the day you were born, you was special and unique from the very beginning.'

'How was I able to take on Kuja and Jecht? I'm just a human, but somehow I act to save someone without thinking...Why is that?' asked Karin. 'Because...You inherited the courage and humbleness to those in need from Cecil. Lunarian blood flows through your veins, just like both Cecil and Golbez...I am sorry for your loss...But in order to do something good...Something bad has to happen,' said Cosmos.

'...Good things must come to an end, huh...' said Karin. She has heard that saying before, 'Why me?..' Karin asked. Cosmos stepped forward and Karin had a bad feeling she might've angered the Goddess. 'I'm sorry...I didn't mean to anger you, Cosmos...If you want me to leave your sanctuary, then I will--' 'No...You didn't anger no one...' Cosmos said, grabbing Karin's shoulder lightly, 'I have forseen the day you would aid us in battle against Chaos...From the day you was born, I knew you were special, not because of parentage, but by destiny. The stars were aligned correctly, just like the day your mother was born...And she aided us to war against Chaos..'

'You mean...She was destined too?' asked Karin. Now it was starting to make sense. Karin's mother helped in the early war against Chaos, as if like ascending; it was Karin's turn to take her mother's place in the war against the God of Discord. 'Cosmos...I can't do this...I ran away from my friend..Your allies..I can't do this anymore..' said Karin.

'Yes you can, young one...The strength deep inside of you is waiting to be set free, deep inside your heart. Your friend, Lorena is also involved in this war as well...Not like you, but as a guardian for a special friend...Have faith in your stregnth and it will guide you to the victory of peace..' said Cosmos, cheering Karin up instantly.

'I bet in the future...I'll meet you in the final confrontation against Chaos...Will I?' asked Karin. Cosmos nods, smiling to Karin with a sweetest smile, 'Don't be afraid of what you can do...You have already made so many new friends...Be careful..The light will always guide...And protect you on your journey...Farewell, young Karin...' The dream ended and Karin wakes up from her slumber. 'Cosmos...Now I understand..But...' Karin then hears a tapping on the window to the back of her SUV. She turns to face where the sound is coming from and sees Bartz and Boko looking into the car at her.

"Hey!! Your okay!" said Bartz. Boko chirped and cooed with happiness to see Karin again.

"Bartz...Boko...How did you find me?" asked Karin. "We already knew what the car looked like, and you wanted to be alone, so this was a good place to be...It was all thanks to this good luck charm I always carry with me..Its one of Boko's feathers," answered Bartz. Boko nodded in response. Karin couldn't believe this, they were worried about her, then a memory of Lorena telling her that they were in this together. Karin felt sick, as if she abandoned everything. Bartz saw this and said, "Don't cry! Everything's gonna be alright!! Don't cry!!" He immediately gets the back trunk door open at the back of the SUV and hops back there to Karin, including Boko, which there was surprisingly enough room for a Chocobo.

Boko cuddled up to Karin and Bartz held onto her to comfort her, "Its gonna be alright...We too have something in common, like losing a parent...Your not the only one..Me, Tidus, Firion, I don't know about the Onion Knight..and possibly others, Your not alone," said Bartz. Karin by instinct held onto Bartz in sadness, crying til she was done. Bartz also cried along with her, as if he was feeling what she was feeling, like they were connected. Fifteen minutes go by and the three stayed were they were til things settled.

"I bet you guys are mad at me...And don't want me back...I abandoned everything..." said Karin. Bartz disagreed, "No..We were really worried about you..Firion and some of the others knew this would happen, and Cecil is even more worried..Did he tell you?" Karin knew what Bartz was talking about.

"That he's my father...He did.." answered Karin. "When he told me he didn't yet...I was upset allittle, but had to keep telling myself that in time he would," said Bartz. Silence flooded the area, only the sound heard was them breathing and their beating hearts, but then the silence was broken with a sound of clanking metal. A booming voice was then heard, saying, "At last I found you, key..And return you to the void where you and your friends rightfully belong." Bartz ecognized that voice and looked up to see a familiar foe before him. He sees a suit of armor walking towards the car with designs and colors of silver white, gold yellow, and tints of purple, dark blue, red, and black.

Types of spikes rose from the shoulders and the backs of the lower fore arms. A strange side way spike-like crown was on the top of its helm. Its weapon was alittle demented, but ended in a blade, held in one of its cloud white hands; the same color as its cape. Karin knew who it was too, it was the antagonist from Final Fantasy V: Exdeath. 'No...Its Exdeath...' thought Karin. Bartz was carefully instructed to run when any of the enemies appear, especially Exdeath. As if guided, Bartz climbs into the driver's seat and calls out to Karin, "Close the back door!" Karin rushes to the back trunk door to close it, but as she was reaching out to close it, Exdeath grabs her wrist and said to her, "I have found you at long last, spineless worm! I will return you to light's end...And back to the womb of the void where everything began and ended."

"Let go of me you overgrown, void lover!" Karin roared out, kicking Exdeath in his torso, knocking him backwards to the ground. 'Whoa, did I just knocked Exdeath over backwards? I better close this fast!' thought Karin, closing the door in time. She quickly moves to the front of the car and both her and Bartz switches spots. Boko moves forward to poke his head between Bartz and Karin. "You gotten stronger! I saw through the rear view mirror of you knocking Exdeath over backwards..Awesome!" said Bartz.

"Is there anything else that behemoth talks about, other than about the void?" asked Karin. "Nope, but lets not find out, hang on to something, Boko!"

Boko braced himself and holding onto Karen's things. She races her and the two travelers out of the area, racing away from the 'Void' warrior before he got a chance to catch up. "Whooo! I gotta learn how to drive!" said Bartz.

"I don't think he's not finished, look!" Karin pointed at a whitish purple light in a shape of a circle moving quickly past them to the far front of the SUV, "Exdeath is trying to cut us off by teleporting,"

"How do you know that about Exdeath?" asked Bartz in confusion. "I'll explain when we get back..Oh, crap!" Karin said as she brought the car to a quick stop, about two yards away from Exdeath after finishing his teleportation move. "Spineless worms! Follow me to light's end!" said Exdeath.

"...Come closer...You tree freak...Come on.." growled Karin. "What are you doing??" asked Bartz.

"I'm gonna try and return him..'To the Void'," said Karin, trying to impersonate Exdeath. "You mean run him over?" said Bartz.

"Exactly," answered Karin. Exdeath takes eight more steps forward, then he said to them, "All things will return to the void in the end...--" "I got an idea, why don't you shut the heck up about the void and go back to it if you love it so much!!" screamed Karin, pressing the accelerate pedal hard, driving quickly at Exdeath. "Brace for impact! I'm gonna ram him!" said Karin.

"Hang onto something, Boko!" cried Bartz. Boko held onto the interior of the SUV and Karin's belongings for the impact. In less than five minutes, Karin rams into Exdeath at full speed, and driving over him in the process.

"Bullseye! You nailed him!" cheered Bartz. "About time he shutted up..He's so annoying, talking about the void too much," said Karin. "Tell me about it...I have to deal with him everytime I fight him," said Bartz. He turns to Boko, then asked, "Okay back there, buddy?" Boko pokes his out between Bartz and Karin and gives out a happy chirp. "That's good," said Bartz, patting Boko's head.

"I had a dream...I was talking to Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony. I asked her why I was part of this war in it, and she told me that my mom was assisting on her side in the earlier war. Its like that it was my turn to take my mother's place in battle..." said Karin. Bartz and Boko listened carefully.

"Maybe it ran in the family...Cecil...Your mom..Your destiny was to help us win against Chaos," said Bartz, "Its gonna get much worse, but I know we'll make it."

"As long as the winds of victory is blowing our way," said Karin. Bartz was amazed she said something he says.

"We better get back to base...Everyone is worried about you, even Cecil...Don't worry...We'll make it, together as one...Its better to work together than alone. That's why we have friends so we don't have to be alone," said Bartz. Boko lightly pecked Karin's left arm in affection. Karin nodded, but hesitant.

"Let's get back...I bet I'll face everyone's wrath one way or another...Eitherway...Lets go.." said Karin. The three drive back to the base, leaving the 'Void' warrior Exdeath on the road with two sets of tire marks across up and down his armor body. "Guh...I hate cars...Stupid...Vehicles..." groaned Exdeath. Karin knows that everyone is waiting for her, Bartz, and Boko, but she has a good feeling that she will be in big trouble, or will she? To her, there's only one way to find out.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Back to Where I belong\ To Love a Wild Rose

**'Protected by the Goddess's light, the troubled soul finds salvation through despair's path. Back where the soul should be.**

**A blossoming love is like a rose, blooming to fullness, filled with affection. From the beginning, love conquers all...'**

Driving down the familiar dirt road to the base, they closely approaches the shack with speed. Karin pulls into the driveway of the hideout, but hesitant to move any further. Bartz looks towards the entrance door and realizes someone was standing outside waiting for them. It was Vincent.

"You came back," was all he said. The others rush to the door, but only Cecil, Firion, Tidus, and the Onion Knight made it outside. "Its gonna be alright..." said Bartz. "No, its not...They're coming to scream at me..." said Karin. She then panicked when Firion made it to the driver's side door and opens it. Karin panics, trying to get away in fear of what was going to happen.

"No, no, no, no...Its okay, its okay, its okay..." said Firion, grabbing hold of her and holding her in his arms, trying to calm her down. Karin cried even more. "Its alright now...Everything's gonna be okay...Shhhhhh...Shhhhhh," calming to Firion's words, Karin fell into him in sadness. Tidus was worried, but the Onion Knight held him back with one arm, "No...Firion's got it handled...Don't get in the way." Tidus didn't like the advice, but he followed it anyway.

"We had a run in with Exdeath, but you should've seen it! She kicked him and he was knocked backwards like that! I can do that, too, but she's gotten stronger," said Bartz.

Boko chirped in agreement. "She even ran him over in this car! All the way back...I bet he's still laying in the road and didn't follow," Bartz continued. Cecil was near the area and heard this. "Oh, my....Ran Exdeath over, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah...She rammed him first and drove over him while he was down for the count," answered Bartz, "Road kill in the making...But he'll be back, that I know..." Terra arrives outside to the SUV, then went towards a distraught Karin. "We gotta get her inside...Its okay, your safe now..No one won't put any harm on you, not even those guys after you..." Terra then held out her hand to Karin, helping her out of the car. Firion still held onto her and helped her to the door inside.

"Its okay...Everything's going to be alright for the better..." Terra continued, calming Karin down with her words. Everyone followed behind. Yuna was the next to arrive, including Lulu. "We got it from here...Its best to let us girls handle this," said Yuna. Tifa and Yuffie arrive a few seconds later, helping out with whatever was left for them.

"Girls...We'll never understand them..Right?" said Tidus. "I agree...Guys most of the time don't know what they're thinking, even if they speak their minds," answered Bartz. Boko chirped. The door opens again, but this time Vincent said, "There's a group here looking for Boko...Here they come." Another Chocobo and a small group of six to seven baby Chocobo chicks followed close behind to the center of the room.

"Koko! Did you find us? Boko, its your wife!" said Bartz. Boko chirped with excitment and went to Koko, but Boko was then pecked in punishment as a way of saying 'Why did you leave your family behind, mister!'

"Uh, oh...There's Lulu mad at me casting a fire spell and I'm running for my life, ya.." said Wakka. "I was thinking that this reminded me of something Tidus did and Yuna was shooting at him, but was aiming at the ground so she didn't hurt him," said Auron.

"Oh....Yeah..I accidently nailed Yuna in the head with a Blitzball...She was mad at me for a week after that.." said Tidus. Koko sensed something was going on. After a few more seconds, her and her babies went to Karin's room and by a woman's instinct went to Karin.

"Oh, hello..." said Yuna. "Its Koko...She must've found her husband, Boko.." said Terra. Koko fluttered her feathers and went to Karin. "Boko's...Married? I didn't know that Chocobos can get married," said Karin. The chicks came closer to the bed, peering at Karin with their eyes. Karin wanted to pet one of them, but knew that Koko wouldn't like that, because by instinct knew these were her babies. A determined chick manages to get onto the bed and moves towards Karin, snuggling itself up to her. "No, little one...Your mom would think I'm hurting you.." The chick stayed, despite what Karin said to it.

'That's odd..Koko isn't angry, nor attacking me...Does she already know..Huh?' Karin looks behind her and found the female Chocobo and the rest of the family snuggling up to Karin.

Boko arrives a few minutes later, snuggling up to Koko. "Awww...The whole Chocobo family was worried about you," said Lulu, "Its good they're all reunited." Karin immediately calms down a bit and falls to a nap and turns around to cuddle up to Koko's feathers. After a half an hour nap, Karin was stirred by a sound of a door openning. She looks over to see where the noise was coming from and saw Cecil walking in as a paladin, not a dark knight.

"How are you feeling now?" asked Cecil. "Okay...But I bet you came in here to grill me like any parent would..You don't have to hide it..Go ahead, yell at me.."answered Karin. Cecil remained silent.

"You could've gotten yourself killed...You were lucky Bartz found you before Exdeath did...Or worse it could've been my brother, Golbez...But I can't bring myself to yell at you, you were confused and emotionally unstable back then," said Cecil, not raising his voice at all. Karin couldn't believe this. "I was worried sick about you...I was afraid that you could of...I don't know why this thought keeps appearing to me, but...Please don't do this again, the next time it could be worse," Cecil continued.

"I had a dream...That I talked to her...The Goddess of Harmony," said Karin, "My mother...Aided the war before me, now I'm all of a sudden next in line to take her place..I don't even know how to fight."

"We will teach you...But for now you must recover mentally..." Cecil said. Then the Onion Knight walks in, checking on Karin himself. "Is she gonna be alright?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

"She will...It just takes time to emotionally heal from tramuatic and scarring events," said Cecil, turning to the young warrior. The Onion Knight was curious about these kinds of things, but how should he know, even Karin herself didn't know about the young warrior even further, or did she? After a hour of working, everyone was busy doing their tasks, that is until Reno hears the Onion Knight screaming at Bartz, yet again, "You idiot!! Look what you did to my tools!!"

"Hey, guys...There's a fight between the Onion Knight and Klauser again!" Reno called out. "Now what?" asked Tidus.

"Look what you did! It took me awhile to find them and now they're broken!!" roared the Onion Knight.

"How many times did I say, 'I'm sorry!' to you?! I'll go find another set for you," said Bartz, preparing for a verbal battle. "It took me a week to find these tools for my study to cure Geo-Stigma! And you wrecked them...Now its gonna take me another week to find another set, thanks to you!" roared the Onion Knight.

"I said I was sorry...I'm curious on how you were raised by your parents...This isn't what they'd teach their kids," Bartz countered, hoping he didn't anger the Onion Knight further. "You wanna know something? You wanna know something!!?" the Onion Knight rose his voice. Bartz was prepared for the Onion Knight's 'Comet' spell, but then something else happend.

"I...Never had any parents..." said the Onion Knight. Bartz was stunned, "You...Never had...Parents?? Your an orphan??" Tidus and everyone else that arrived to the lab was shocked as well, even Terra. She sensed about this about the young swordsman, but didn't know if her magical empathic abilities were speaking the truth, til now.

"Why didn't you tell us this? Even Terra..." said Bartz. "Because no one had the right to know...But now you do...Get out...Before you suffer, go.." said the Onion Knight, trying to not cry. Bartz quickly flees the lab; then as he was leaving to go to Boko, he noticed the others near the door.

"Oh, no...Did you hear that from here?" asked Bartz. "Yeah, we did," answered Tidus. This made the Onion Knight even more upset, now everyone here knows. He picks up a wrecked utensil and throw it to a wall in anger, then slumps to the floor and covers his face in his arms, crying.

'I can't believe this....I can't believe I said that...' thought the Onion Knight. Terra slowly walks in, worried about him.

"Onion Knight?..." she asked. He rose his head up to see Terra, then said, "You didn't hear that...None of it...Its just an illusion."

"No its not...I had a feeling about this, but didn't know it was true til you said something about it..I'm sorry," said Terra, "We can replace these tools...Don't worry..No matter how long it takes, we'll find another set." she then holds the Onion Knight in her arms, calming him down from what just happened. Everyone left the scene to Terra to fix, except the Warrior of Light. He was baffled, but remained quiet. Terra removes the Onion Knight's helmet and places it right next to her, still craddling him in her arms. The Warrior of Light walks in, heading towards the two. Terra knew ahead of time he would walk in and she letted him.

As with what Terra did, he too removed his helmet and places it next to the Onion Knight and holds him along with Terra, then said, "Why didn't you tell us this earlier, aren't we your friends?"

"I can't take this war anymore...I wanna go home..." cried the Onion Knight. "What about the people with Geo-Stigma? You said you was going to do whatever it took to help them, remember? Do you want to abandon them for this cure?" asked the Warrior of Light, knowing too well this was not helping.

Like Karin, the Onion Knight was distraught. "I want to help them...But this whole war is driving me crazy...I want to protect everyone, but yet...I can't protect myself..." he said in sadness. The three remained there for an hour, not leaving the Onion Knight alone for one minute and that is what they did, no matter how long it takes to calm him down. Bartz walks to Karin's room, because Boko was in there and possibly Koko and the Chocobo chicks. Just as he assumed, the whole Chocobo family was in there with Karin, laying in the bed all snugged up to feathers.

"Aww..." said Bartz. Boko awoke from his nap and looks up to see Bartz, giving a chirp. Koko also woke up and the rest of the family.

"Sorry I woke you guys up.." Bartz apologized. Karin stirred, then said, "In my sleep, I heard the Onion Knight yelling, was it at you?"

"Unfortunately, yeah...I was goofing off in the lab and accidently broke his tools. He was not happy. I said I would replace them somehow and I found out he's an orphan..I was shocked," answered Bartz.

"Oh...I already knew that from the beginning," said Karin. "You said you would explain how you knew Exdeath's moves at first glance, and how you know about us? You said that you would after coming back here after the encounter with Exdarth," said Bartz, reminding Karin.

"Oh...A promise is a promise..." said Karin. While getting a bag out of a container, she takes all her video games out and only pulled out the Final Fantasy games I thru X, plus X-2 and showed them to Bartz and the Chocobo family.

"I've played all of them, one thru ten and ten's sequal. That is how I know all of you by first glance. This game in paticular is what the war we're in is about.." She then shows Bartz the PSP game, 'Dissidia: Final Fantasy'. "This is how I also knew Exdeath's moves, because on this game, I always beat him, but not like this...Reality is different," Karin continued.

"Oh...We're game characters? Cool..." said Bartz. "I also know how you became afraid of heights...How about you tell me that in your point of view.." said Karin.

"I was little when it happened...With some other kids, we were playing hide and go seek and I was on the roof of a two story building. I fell off..That's why when it comes to heights, I am paralyzed of fear," said Bartz. Boko nodded.

"I'm sorry...I bet it was scary for you then..." said Karin. She then turned her thoughts to the Onion Knight, "Is he...Upset about the yelling and he said something about...I think you already know the rest."

"He really is...Do you want to see him?" asked Bartz. "If he's really upset, then no...I'd make the whole thing worse if I did..I'll wait til he calms down enough," answered Karin. Just as Koko shuffled in the bed, Firion arrives with a plate of food for Karin, including one for himself. "Sorry for interrupting your conversation, but I bet Karin is hungry for something to eat," Firion said, apologizing for the interruption.

"That's alright...I'm hungry, too.." said Bartz. The Chocobos chirped and cooed, indicating they're hungry, too; including the babies.

"You guys are hungry, too? Lets go get a bite to eat, then...Lets go!" said Bartz with ethusiasm. All the Chocobos got up and went with their human friend. It was now only Karin and Firion. "The Onion Knight...Is really upset, isn't he?" Karin asked Firion.

"Yeah...He is...I can't believe all this time he didn't tell us he didn't had no family," Firion responded. "I know why, because we had no right to know. It was a personal thing to him and when he all of a sudden said that, he felt like he betrayed both himself and you guys...Bartz told me," said Karin.

"I get it..." said Firion. He then turns to Karin, taking a bite of his food, then said, "Its strange...Its like I already know you, but yet we just met..."

"Hold on...Are you having dreams with me in them?" asked Karin, knowing to well that this wasn't no chance encounter. "As a matter of fact...Yes...As if we were supposed to meet..But how?" asked Firion.

"I...I don't know...The Emperor's gonna pay...For what he did to Fynn...Somehow I know, but I have a feeling I should say that," said Karin.

"You already know....He will pay...In the final battle," said Firion. "I said something similiar, but not like this to Cloud involving Sephiroth..I thought he was gonna get mad, but he didn't..." said Karin.

"I guess, we share something in common...I know your pain too well, but I lost both of my parents to Mateus's Cyclone on Fynn..Not one.." said Firion. Karin takes a few bites of her food, then said, "If things settle down...Maybe..We could go out to get some to eat sometime, if you want to...If you don't..Its alright."

"....Let me think about it..." answered Firion. For the rest of the evening, Karin laid in bed to rest and went to bed three hours after eatting her food. Just when she was about to turn the lights out, the Chocobo family returns to accompany Karin. She was glad the Chocobos came back. Til tommorow, she'll see what the whole situation was about and try to help the Onion Knight as best as she can. Til then, she snuggled up to Koko as well as the Chocobo chicks and fell to sleep. All of a sudden both she and Bartz have something else in common: They like Chocobos as well.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Panic for a solution\Advice to a Knight

**'A tainted heart seeks a solution for the darkness, hoping to please it from its failures. Not waiting a moment, the tainted heart searches, hoping not to anger a God of Madness and Discord.**

**A troubled knight, filled with remorse and sadness, struggle to come to sense with his hardening past of loneliness. Can the key help an Esper, determined to help him, before his own heart is consumed with grief.....'**

A abandoned church sat in the far corner of the slums of the city. Its walls wearing away from years of the elements, the people, and other means. The foot soldiers of Chaos paced the floors deep inside the church's interior. Vivian paces in her room thinking of an next move, hoping to not face the wrath of Garland, or Sephiroth for this failure to get rid of her rival and the key against them for Cosmos.

'Oh, god...I better come up with a way to help Chaos's soldiers....If I don't come up with a solution, or an explanation, I'll be useless and end up dead..." thought Vivian.

As Vivian paced back and forth to think further, the door opens and Exdeath immediately walks into her room at his own pace.

"You better have came up with something, child...We are summoning at the main room and you better have a good explanation on how our efforts are thwarted by the warriors of Cosmos," said Exdeath, holding his bladed weapon with one hand. Vivian was dreading the worst.

"I've been up for hours thinking of an excusable answer for you guys...I think I got one, but it might not be suiting for the God of Discord and his warriors," Vivian said.

She follows Exdeath to the big, alter main room of their hideout, hoping her new thought solution and explanation for the others down there for a summon is good enough. Garland, acting as leader, sat in the throne-like seat in the middle of the room, while on the left, Sephiroth, Golbez, and Jecht stood on their feet. The Cloud of Darkness and another silver haired woman roamed the center of the room by levitating and walking. The woman along with the Cloud of Darkness wore a red ballroom-based gown dress with fur near the open chest area to the back. Designs were shown on her body and face like body paint, including her exposed leg as she stood still for a minute.

As yellow as the golden moon, her eyes shined in the fires providing a suitable light source. A type of necklace was worn around her neck and a type of horn-based headpiece was situated on her head. The rest of her features were inhuman, including demonic like hands and feet of a bright purple color and dark, stone purple color and black feathered wings. The woman was a witch that can manipulate time at her own will, named 'Ultimecia'. To the right, Kefka and Kuja levitated in the air, while the Emperor stood silent with his staff in hand, wait for the meeting to begin.

"Are all present?" asked Garland. As if on cue, Seymour, Shuyin, Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, Exdeath, and now Vivian enter the room.

Distress flooded Vivian as she saw the others waiting for them to arrive, but she tried to not show it, for fear that she could end up a target. Exdeath stands in the center of the altar, then said, "All is now present...Let the summon begin." Shuyin and Seymour take their place next to Jecht, while the trio: Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz stood side by side with Sephiroth. Exdeath then walks to the other side of the altar to stand next to the Emperor, who was expecting him to stand near him somewhere. "The enemy is now present in this realm on the side of Cosmos...Even though we were informed of the key's locations through our informant...We still did not destroy her, because of that Warrior of Light and the others!!" Garland roared, making sure everyone in the room felt his anger.

Vivian had a feeling Garland would get upset. "Maybe the reason they intercepted us is because they got here earlier than we.." said Jecht, "The quickest always manage to survive..."

"This isn't a Blitzball match, Jecht..." growled Garland. "I know that!! But...Uh," struggling to find the right words to say, Jecht then said, "Oh, forget it...I don't got an explanation right yet.."

"What Jecht is trying to say, is that they had a head start before us, provided by Cosmos. If we had seen this earlier, then we would have a better chance," said Shuyin, trying to back Jecht up.

"Good point...If only we saw this earlier..." said Garland. He then turns to Kuja, then asked, "How was you attacked by a mere human like that, Kuja? Your a genome, more better than them and somehow you ended up hurt like that...How sad."

"You make my skin crawl, Garland...It wasn't my fault...If it wasn't--" "How many times have we heard your stupid excuses of 'If it wasn't for Zidane'...You can come up with something better than that..Like sending him back to the void!" said the Cloud of Darkness.

"You can come up with something better," said Golbez, "We've heard this far too many times...it is inexcusable."

"Oh, shut up!" screamed Kuja. Mateus twirled his staff in his hand, then steps to where Garland sat, and spoke for the first time since the meeting started, "It should be about time to get more serious at this point...We need to come up with a strategy against our nemeses and fight back, that is why our 'informant' is also present here before us," said the Emperor, looking directly at Vivian, putting the spotlight directly at her. Ultimecia wasn't impressed.

"That child? Our informant?" Ultimecia questioned, "What does she know?" Vivian gulped, but tried to not show her fear to the others, then told them all the information they needed to know. After a tense five minutes, Garland gets up and Vivian was expecting the worst.

"Young one...Though we are provided with vast amounts of valuable information, but we are getting little results! Do you have an explanation for this?" said Garland. Everyone was looking at her, listening carefully.

"I know you've heard this far too many times...But if it wasn't for the warriors of Cosmos..Then we would have won, but maybe there could be a way to take the warriors on," said Vivian.

"Go on..." said Garland. "If you know them too well, then they should have a simple weakness to render them unable to fight...Like love, they wouldn't let a certain someone get hurt in battle. For example: Zidane and his connection to Lorena's mother and Cecil with his connection to Karin's mother. If we know our enemies well enough, we can exploit those things," said Vivian. it all clicked for everyone.

"Oh, yeah...I know my son is attached to Yuna all too much..Now I get it.." said Jecht. "Of course...Now I get it.." said Kuja.

"Oh, yeah! That girl is always around that little brat...Now I get it clearly!" said Kefka.

"The only thing that could fit for that wanderer is those Chocobos...That's it," answered Exdeath.

"It all clicks...Now I know what we're doing wrong...To defeat your foe, you must learn more to learn your enemy's weakness and strengths..Then use it against them," said Garland, placing his right hand below the mouth guard of his armor mask. He then turns to Vivian, then said, "There is something that needs to be revealed to you...You were destined to join us."

"How? I know my mother well...But...I never met my own father...How was I destined?" asked Vivian. Sephiroth walks towards her, then guided her forward down on the carpeted floor.

"Lorena..Isn't the only one with a genome father..You do as well, and the only genome on our side is..." Sephiroth said, taking her to the only genome of the side of Chaos, who was none other than Kuja himself.

"A hybrid of human and genome...Where do you think your beauty came from?" asked Sephiroth, arriving to Kuja. She was shocked and surprised into one. Her father this whole time was Kuja and him alone. She slowly walks to him, and Kuja slowly levitates to her, but then touches the ground with his feet, now walking towards her slowly. With caution, Vivian approaches the saddistic mage and holds out her hand as if putting it on an imaginary piece of glass.

Kuja did the exact same thing, but placed his hand and palm onto Vivian's. "You've grown up so much...Young one...And as elegant as I always imagined you would be..Just like me..." said Kuja. She then realized where her beauty and elegant looks came from, it was inherited from Kuja himself. After a few more seconds of staring at one another, they slowly embraced, holding each other in their arms. Destiny played a part for Vivian, as well as Karin.

Karin walks to the Onion Knight's room and wondered if he calmed down alright. She enters his room, spotting Terra with him. "Is he okay?" Karin asked Terra.

"He's still trying to recover..Its really tearing him apart, hiding this from us and in the process hurted himself. He really feels terrible," answered Terra. Karin nodded, then asked, "Is he asleep?"

"Yes...He literally cried himself to sleep...Why?" asked Terra. After all this time, the torture of what happened earlier was plaguing the young warrior.

"I was going to offer to help to replace his tools needed for something about Geo-Stigma...I saw something about the disease on the news few days ago...Is Cloud infected with it, as well?" asked Karin.

"He is...But he dealed with it for years and it didn't kill him," answered Terra. "I guess it was those Jenova Cells still lingering in him that spared him from its fate..." said Karin. "You want to help him? Right now, he's still upset...It might be awhile.." said Terra.

"I see...I can wait...Its not like the end of the world, or anything...Wait, I think I have something for him..Hold on," Karin then rushes out of the Onion Knight's room and into hers and retrieved one of her old teddy bears she had when she was little.

'I'm too old for this one...But maybe..I should,' thought Karin. She then takes that specific bear and returns to the Onion Knight's room yet again. She approaches the sleeping youth and places the bear in his arms, making sure not to wake him up. "So he's not alone, despite the fact he really isn't...I'm too old for that one teddy bear, but I think he needs it more than me. Can you give him a message from me when he wakes up?" asked Karin.

"What should I tell him for you?" asked Terra. "Tell him that I'm sorry this happened and I already knew about it from when I frist saw him. If he asks about the teddy bear, tell him that Karin gave it to him to keep him company when he feels alone and can keep it, and I will help him replace the tools that got broken by accident by Bartz. I better get to bed...Tommorow is a new day with new challenges and problems," said Karin.

"I'll tell him that..And thank you..." said Terra, glad Karin helped out as best as she could. Karin then returns to her room and lays back down to get some sleep, but before she got to the bed, she noticed a flower on a stand. It was a rose.

'A rose...Where'd it come from?' thought Karin. Her memory turned to Firion. In her game, 'Dissidia: Final Fantasy' Firion's dream was to fill the world with 'Wild Roses' of peace. 'Of course...Firion's dream...Of wild roses..But why did he give me this rose? I better find a vase for it..' thought Karin, smiling in the process.

She finds a suitable vase for the rose and with it already filled with water, she places it in the vase and sets it on the stand the plant was found. At the same time, Koko, her chicks, and Boko return and moved towards the bed, laying together with the whole family plus Karin. She covered up and turned to the Chocobos behind her and said, "Night, guys," All nine of the Chocobos chirped, then all ten of them in the bed fell to sleep, anticipating what the next day was going to be.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: 'Chocobo' Love and the 'Suplemental' battle

**'Gentle creatures of the plains, as quick as a bird, and lovable to keep as both pet and friend of travel. Keep them close and they will keep you ever closer to their hearts...**

**A new stradegy has been revealed, hoping to test it against the saints for the efforts of a war. The devils have arrived again, but is this a true turnning point?....'**

The rising sun shined through the curtains on Karin, forcing her to cover her face with the blanket. "Guh...Stupid sun.." Karin groaned. Without her even noticing, a baby Chocobo flutters to the front of Karin and crawled under the blankets, lightly pecking her awake with sweet chirps.

"Not now..Little Chocobo...Just a few more minutes.." Karin groaned. Not taking 'No' for an answer, the chick continues its task, fluttering its little feathers to wake Karin up.

"Gah...What?" asked Karin, then before she knew it, the other six chicks crawl under the covers and wake Karin up from her slumber. Karin began to giggle and carefully hugged the chicks together, trying not to hurt them and to anger their mother, Koko. "Oh, you guys...I never knew Chocobos were so cute!" said Karin, petting one each of the chicks near her. Just as she held onto one of them, Koko pulls the cover away from Karin and lightly pecks her to wake up as well, including Boko.

"Hey! Hey! I'm up, I'm up!" said Karin. Boko fluttered his feathers and rubs his feathered face against Karin's, trying to wake her up more and it was working.

As Karin was starting to get up, thanks to the Chocobo family, Bartz and Tidus walks in.

"Oh, no...Your not gonna join these guys are you?" asked Karin. A smirk showed on both their faces and they immediately joined the fun. The chicks played around with Tidus's necklace, as if it was a toy to their childish playtime.

"Hey, that's mine!" said Tidus as the chicks played. Lorena walks in to watch the group goof around, giggling to herself in the process. Karin noticed Lorena and immediately got up, going to her in less than three minutes. The two hugged, glad that everything is better for the best.

"Did you forget, Kar? We're in this together...Everything is going to be alright, besides...Its time for the lovely Chocobos to get a bath..Right guys?" said Lorena. Boko and Koko chirped in agreement. The two parents knew they needed one, but the chicks weren't that happy. Like children, they went and chirped as if whining, stating 'We don't wanna bath!'

"Come on, little ones..You know you need one," said Tidus. The chicks then hid under the bed, hoping they won't come out til they said it was okay to not take a bath. They were dead wrong. Koko pushes the chicks out of the other side of the bed and Karin and Lorena picks them up, taking them to take a bath and both Boko and Koko followed.

"Its okay, guys...You'll feel much better after a nice bath.." said Karin, carrying three of the chicks, while Lorena held onto the rest. Zidane, Cecil, Firion, and the others were waiting for the group with the Chocobos to arrive; when they did, the chicks were getting nervous. Koko calms them down by giving each of her children a little peck of love, and a quick nuzzle. Each group each had one Chocobo, including the chicks, and began bathing them at the same time. Karin and Lorena were assisting Yuna, Wakka, Firion, Yuffie, Reno, and Tifa with one of the chicks, nervous about the water it was about to go into.

"Its okay..The water won't hurt you...Here," said Yuna, splashing a little water on the chick. It panics at first, but then it calmed down a few minutes later. "See? The water ain't gonna hurt you...It'll be alright," said Yuna. Cloud, Bartz, Cid, Vincent, Auron, and Zidane took care of Boko; while Tidus, Kimahri, Barret, the Warrior of light, Lulu, and Rikku took care of Koko. The rest had one chick each, taking care to wash every single dirty feather on their bodies.

"Here we go, Boko...I bet your feeling much better right now, huh buddy," said Bartz. Boko chirped with happiness as the suds gathered on his body.

Karin scrubs the chick with a sponge, cleaning carefully so she doesn't hurt the poor Chocobo chick. The chick chirped with happiness and curiosity, flapping its wings to splash water on Karin and the others with her. "Hey! Watch the hair, okay?" said Reno, playing with the chick. The baby Chocobo giggled in its own way and settled down in the water. With another chick, Cecil and Paine carefully scrub it with a sponge, gathering soap suds on it to look like a cloud.

"Oh, look at you...You look just like a cloud underneath those suds," said Cecil. Paine giggled softly, then rinsed the baby Chocobo with water, and it immediately fluttered its wet feathers, splashing water on the two.

"Hey...Don't get us wet!" said Cecil. After a few minutes, Boko does the same thing, getting the group wet behind him. "Hey!!" screamed Cid, "I didn't say 'Get me wet'! Hey!"

"Boko! That's mean!" said Bartz. Boko chirped in happiness, and Cloud even chuckled to Boko's antics; for he has been around Chocobos for a long time in his life, but not as much as Bartz. Koko splashes water on the group grooming her, getting them wet from the water.

"Hey! Meanie.." said Tidus. Kimahri chuckled to himself, but almost immediately, Tidus noticed, "Oh, hush up..." Karin noticed not everyone was here. Only Terra and the Onion Knight were the only two that wasn't here helpping out. She understood why and continued her task.

After a few more minutes, the Chocobos were getting dried off with towels. "Here we go...Taking a bath didn't hurt you, your okay," said Lorena, drying the Chocobo chick off. Bartz and Zidane dry off Boko, til he shook the remaining droplets of water off at both of them, fluffing his feathers like a puffball.

"This ain't Boko...Its 'Fluffy'.." Zidane joked. Boko grunted in fustration and he turns around to playfully headbutt Zidane's gut, not to hurt him, but in a playfull manner.

"Hey...I know your just playing, but that wasn't nice.." said Zidane. Boko knew what he meant and nuzzled him on the left side of his face, in a way of saying 'I know and I'm sorry.'

After a good half hour, the bathing of the Chocobos was done and Karin held one of Koko's chicks in her arms. "Are we all better, now?" Karin said, as if she was talking to a child. The chick fluttered its feathers in happiness. As Karin was setting the Chick down for it to go back to its mother, Terra walks in and walks to Karin, putting her left hand on Karin's left shoulder.

"He's awake now..." Terra told Karin. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the scene. Auron looks at Reno and asks, "Why do you have a Chocobo chick on your head?"

"Dunno, but its precious, right little one?" said Reno, looking up to the chick on his head. It chirped with excitement.

"He sent me down here to get you...He wants to speak with you right now," said Terra. Karin wondered if he was all recovered from yesterday, but since the Onion Knight wants to speak to her himself, she believes he has. She makes her way to the Onion Knight's room, openning the door quietly. As she entered, she saw that he was sitting on the right side of the bed, facing his back to Karin. The Onion Knight turns around to face Karin, holding the teddy bear in his arms still and said, "You...Already knew about me? How?" Kain explained the same explanation to Bartz and he immediately understood.

"I see now...It hurts to think about it..But...Terra told me your messege, thank you...I'm sorry for a loss from you involving Geo-Stigma. I want to protect everything with whatever strength I have to offer, but I can't even protect myself, how...Ironic," said the Onion Knight.

"Have you tried to move on?" asked Karin. "Yes...But unfortunately, its not a simple task," answered the Onion Knight, "It hurts...I wish I was like other children, but I'm not...Always alone as an orphan, they never cared for an orphan like me."

"I'm sorry...I really am," said Karin, absorbing the information the youth had told, "I think I get the personality clash between you and Bartz more clearly. You take things seriously, because you had to do that when you was alone, trying to survive in the world on your own...Maybe Bartz is trying in someway to help you be a carefree child like all the others, but it seems the seriousness nature always seems to come first than your other sides."

"I think Bartz is right...I did lost my sense of adventure...But in reality, it doesn't matter at all..." said the Onion Knight, begining to become sad yet again, "All these people are getting hurt because of us and the war between the Goddess of Harmony and the God of Discord, plus Geo-Stigma is involved and so far I have made no results by far to find a cure...I want to protect everyone from harm, but little progress is made. I'm such a fool...What if there is no way to cure Geo-Stigma..And all my efforts are all for nothing.."

"Your probably have fallen into the Cloud of Darkness's trick....Don't be a fool for that. Your better than that void witch," said Karin, trying to cheer the Onion Knight up.

"...Cloud of Darkness....One of these days...If its possible," said the Onion Knight, "One of these days...I want to kill the Cloud of Darkness..For so much pain her and the others caused to everyone!!..If its possible."

"Anything is possible...You just gotta believe, that's all," answered Karin, "Nothing is impossible unless you put your mind to it..." The Onion Knight finally smiles, and then he said, "Terra told me...You wanted to help me replace the broken tools for researching the cure...I thank you, but the enemy will overwhelm us if its just you and me..So we should bring three more with us."

Karin nods to the idea, then asked, "Who are the other three should we bring?"

"Firion...Tidus...And Bartz, of course Boko will join us, we can't seperate the two. When I walked by your room one night Firion was in there with you...I overheard what you two were talking about...I'm sorry I did and it is rude to listen to other people's conversations, but maybe your dreams could mean something," said the Onion Knight. Karin had a feeling he was gonna ask about her dream with Firion in it, but its too late; he asked about it already.

"So tell me...What was the dream about?" asked the Onion Knight, showing his curious side of his personality.

Karin tells the Onion Knight about her dream. To every single detail til it ended, the Onion Knight listened to all of it carefully. After she was done, a theory was formed.

"I see...Now I think I have a theory about that dream...It seems...Your falling in love with him," said the Onion Knight.

"Really? This quick? I don't know...." said Karin. "Love is a powerful thing that is so strong we can't fight it no more. Tidus and Yuna are a good example, plus both your mom and Cecil and Lorena's mother and Tribal..He probably knows this too, Firion..Its just a theory til all the facts are straight," said the Onion Knight.

"I see...I think I know another good example..You and...Terra," said Karin. The youth began to blush a bright red, lobster red, and said,"Wha?? I uh...Uh...Please, your embarrasing me..."

" 'I'll always protect you, Terra...That's a promise'...In Dissidia: Final Fantasy, that was exactly what you said to her. I have a gut feeling you'll do anything to make sure she is safe..I know it," said Karin, reciting a quote from her PSP game that the Onion Knight says himself.

"Yes...I did say that back then...And I meant it, too...If the enemy finds out this kind of weakness, we're done for," said the Onion Knight.

"I had a bad feeling you was gonna say something like that...What do you want to do now?" asked Karin.

"We need to replace those broken utensils...We better get it done and over with so it can be out of the way...Lets round up the other guys that will join us," the youth answered. Before turning around to wait outside for the Onion Knight, he then said to Karin, "No one...Never gave me a teddy bear before...I bet its yours, but do you still...Want me to keep it?"

"It was...But I gpt other ones with me and I'm too old for that paticular one. Yes, you can keep it..Its yours now. Maybe it'll help you when the going gets tough, and help you sleep better..Always keep it close," answered Karin.

The youth smiled, and placed the bear on the bed in front of the pillows and followed Karin out of the room. Outside of the shack base, the Onion Knight, Bartz, Tidus, Firion, plus Karin and Boko walked to the SUV and got in.

"You guys make sure to buckle in. I don't want a ticket about that and ignorance of the law isn't excusable," said Karin. Tidus struggled to figure out the seatbelt thing and so did Bartz. "How do you...Uhm...I don't get it.." said Tidus.

"I don't get it either...Now how do you put this thing on?" answered Bartz. Firion was in the back with Boko, closely snugged in his feathers. "Its kinda cozy back here...Right, Boko?" said Firion. Boko chirped and nuzzled Firion on the right side of his face.

"Hang on, guys.." said Karin. She understood they haven't heard or used a seatbelt before, so she can't be mad at them. The Onion Knight helped Bartz, while Karin helped Tidus. After showing them how to use the seatbelts, they get it on at last. The Onion Knight buckled up in the passenger front seat next to Karin as she sat down and buckled up as well.

"Hold onto Firion, Boko," said Karin. Boko chirped and snuggled up to Firion to hold onto him as they went to their destination. "I can't remember where I got them, but I know its nearby.." said the Onion Knight.

"We'll drive around to these places til you remember," said Karin. Tidus looks out the window and said, "Look, there's a Burger King over there.."

"Oh..I'm hungry..." said Bartz. Karin groaned in disbelief and drove to the Burger King drive thru and placed orders for the guys. The clerk on the intercom spoke, "Welcome to Burger King, what will your order be for the day?"

"I'll take a hamburger," said the Onion Knight.

"I'll take a cheeseburger...A plain cheeseburger," said Tidus. "Me, too and fries for Boko..." said Bartz. After placing the orders, there was one person left.

"Do you want anything, Firion?" Karin asked. "Just a hamburger...And a medium Pepsi..Thank you," answered Firion. After parking in a parking lot near a grocery store, the guys started eating their food, including Karin who ordered a seven piece Chicken Tenders and a small Coke.

"This is good...Remind me to go back there again when I get hungry again," said Tidus.

"Me, too...How are the fries, Boko?" Bartz asked his Chocobo companion. Boko chirped happyly and continued eating. Firion was half-way done with his hamburger. The youth beside Karin ate all of his hamburger and putted the garbage in the bag that the food came from. "Your done? Did it fill you up til dinner?" asked Karin.

"It did.." answered the Onion Knight. Tidus was the second to finish and placed the wrappers into the bag. Bartz and Boko also finished as well and Firion was last. After throwing the garbage away, they continued the search for the place where the Onion Knight got the tools from.

After a long five minutes, the Onion Knight remembers and points at it from a block down as he saw the sign, "There! Right there!" The group heads in that direction and headed to the building and purchased another set. After stopping near a lake to stretch out, the Onion Knight gives Karin his thanks. "As soon as we get back...I'll get back to work on the antidote to get rid of Geo-Stigma..." As soon as the Onion Knight finished his sentence, a familiar voice said, "I like to see you try." Everyone turns around to the voice's source and from left to right walking to them from the east was Jecht, Exdeath, Golbez, and the Cloud of Darkness.

"We won't allow you to find a cure...All things will return to nothingness, back to the eternal void," said the Cloud of Darkness. "Your just like Exdeath, you both need to shut up about the void...God..." groaned Karin.

"Don't even think about it...You know you are no match against me, mighty weapons specialist," said Golbez, swinging his right index finger left and right like a pendelum.

"Shut up! I can take you til my last breath!" said Firion, arming himself with his bow. "Then I shall grant your wish..." answered Golbez.

The Cloud of Darkness floats in front of the Onion Knight. "We have waited for this moment...To rob your light forever.." she said.

"I've come to see if I can slay you..For good!" said the Onion Knight, "With this blade...And my magic..I will shine the light on you, just like thousands of years ago!!" Boko stayed near Karin and guided her away to a safe location, while his friend contended with Exdeath.

"Where's your girlfriend, kid? I thought she was gonna be with you?" Jecht teased Tidus. Armed with his sword, Tidus points the curled end of his blade at his father and said, "Go near her, dad...Then I'll make sure you join Shuyin and Seymour when I'm through with the three of you...Back to the Farplane!"

"Such harsh words...For a brat!" Jecht roared, rushing to attack Tidus with his own sword. The Cloud of Darkness fires energy orbs of darkness at the Onion Knight as he rushed forward at her. He dodges the attacks and tries to get near the void entity. With anticipation, the Cloud of Darkness swipes both of her vine creatures from her side and nails him, but it wasn't enough after a dozen whacks to stop the young fighter.

"Playtime is over, child...We are superior," said the Cloud of Darkness. "That's right, playtime is over...Now its time to get more serious! Stars unite!" The youth casts a spell at the Cloud of Darkness, firing comets at her at a rapid fire pace. The spell was called 'Comet' and there was a good reason why.

Each comet nailed her in different locations on her anatomy, causing a stream of damage. Karin watched the battle go on and she couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to enter the fight as well, but Boko was determined to not let her out of his sight. "Boko...I hope you understand in a Chocobo way, but I need to get in there...I'm tired of being chased and now is the time to fight back, forgive me," Karin grabbed a heavy metal steel pipe from a wrecked sign and ran to one of the enemies: The Cloud of Darkness. Jecht and Tidus still fought against one another, til Tidus got the upperhand and kicks his dad into the a brick wrecked wall near a construction sight and elbows him in the gut.

"Gugh!! Not bad...When did you get stronger?" Jecht asked. "I ain't telling you nothing, now go take a nap!" answered Tidus, high kicking his father in the head, instantly knocking him out in one hit. The Onion Knight fought as long as he can go, despite major damage he's caused on the Cloud of Darkness. "Time for us to end this...No matter the cost--" "My turn, void witch!" Karin yelled out, fully nailing the Cloud of Darkness in the head, knocking her out in one, powerful swing.

"Whoa! You've gotten stronger!" said the Onion Knight. Karin then turned her attention to Firion, because Exdeath was nothing to Bartz so she headed to Firion.

'If Golbez is Cecil's older brother...Then to me he's...My uncle!' thought Karin as she ran to the scene. Firion was worn out and hurt a bit, but still following his vow, he'd keep fighting til his final breath. Golbez levitated to the weapon specialist with only minor damage.

"I'm coming for you...Firion..." said Golbez. Just as he was about to move another foot, Karin runs in and nails Golbez in the torso, knocking him allittle backwards in the air, but stunned. "I'm coming for you, Uncle Golbez!" cried Karin, now aiming at her uncle's head.

"What?!" said Golbez in shock to see his neice fighting against him. Karin nails him in the head with the pipe. After that, Karin does the unthinkable and double kicks Golbez out of the air and he instantly falls into the lake, straight into the water. Firion watches in amazement and thinks, 'Dang...Where'd she learn those moves?' Tidus watched in shock as well, but was suprised that Cecil's fighting spirit and the feeling to save the weak was inherited.

'Whoa! When did she learn that!? She literally kicked Golbez into the water!' thought the Onion Knight. Bartz also double kicks Exdeath into the lake as well, glad that the fight was over. "Let's go before they get back up!" called Bartz.

Boko rushes to the group and they all quickly get into the SUV and drove out of there while Chaos's fighters that showed up were still down. With the tools in hand, they returned to HQ, as fast as the car could go.

"Dang, girl...How was you able to do that?! You literally kicked Golbez out of the air and straight into the water!" said Bartz, excited from the scene fight.

"It was those Kung Fu movies...I watch them too much," answered Karin. "You said 'Uncle' Golbez, why?" asked Tidus. The Onion knight turns to Tidus and said, "Its obvious. Her father, Cecil, has a brother, thus Golbez..So that makes Golbez Karin's uncle."

"Ooooohhh...I get it now..." said Tidus. "I don't want my dad to know...He might yell at me for this and I hurted his brother.." said Karin.

"We can't hide this from Cecil...He might be proud of you for learning how to fight...Eitherway..He will find out sooner or later," said the Onion Knight.

"True...Alright...But if he starts yelling..I know it was all my fault, but I'm more worried about how the Warrior of Light will react to this," said Karin.

"There's only one way to find out," said Bartz. They get closer to the hideout with each block and soon Karin will find out if she is ready to learn how to fight with a weapon of without. She just hope either the Warrior of Light, or Cecil isn't angry about her fighting against Golbez when they got back.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Back to the Research of the Antidote\ Fate of Awakening Love of a Rose

**'By instinct. all know how to defend ones self on the field of battle. Training provides guidance and center for the warrior, allowing the way of battle to infuse into the soul.**

**Unable to escape from a feeling of affection and love. Two souls of different worlds meld as one. A special time for a hurted soul to heal, the two minds and hearts all become one...'**

Karin returns to her room as soon as the group and her returned. She knew her father wouldn't approve of what transpired hours ago of taking on Golbez, despite the minor damages Firion putted on the dark Lunarian knight. As if punishing herself, she remained in her room, with Koko and the chicks. The word of Karin's attack on Golbez spreaded to the others, and quickly it spreads to Cecil and the Warrior of Light.

"You should of been there," said the Onion Knight, "She double kicked at Golbez out of his levitation and he literally fell into the lake after that." Cecil was amazed.

"Impressive...She's getting stronger with each battle..." said the Warrior of Light.

"Firion already putted damage to Cecil's brother minorly, but that was good enough for her to knock him into the lake. While coming back, I asked her why she took on Golbez and the Cloud of Darkness like that, and her answer was 'I was tired of being hunted and chased, so I chose to fight, to show them I'm no ones' target.' She's in her room right now, probably believing she is being punished," said the Onion Knight. The Warrior of Light and Cecil look at one another, then nodded to a in mind agreement.

Karin cuddled up to a Chocobo chick in her arms carefully, but then she heard the door open and Cecil walks in, as a dark knight, not paladin. She knew she was going to be in trouble. She puts the chick on the bed and turned to Cecil.

"I'm sorry....I couldn't take being 'the victim' in all of this. I knocked out the Cloud of Darkness with a metal pipe and attacked Golbez into the lake with both pipe and feet...I know I should've not done that and I'll stay in here as long as you want me to to learn from my mistake..." Karin then saw the Warrior of Light walk in and looked towards her. She knew she was gonna get it know since the Warrior of Light knew what happened.

"I didn't mean to hurt your brother, dad..." said Karin, tears begining to stream down from her watery eyes, "He was going to hurt someone..And I had to stop him before it happened.."

"Calm down, Karin...The Onion Knight explained what happened back there...Even if you haven't learned how to fight before, it was your instinct to attack Golbez...Not by your own free will. I'm impressed, even the Warrior of Light is impressed," said Cecil. "No he's not! He's mad at me, not impressed! You don't have to lie about it..." Karin shouted. 'I get it now more clearly...I'm nothing but trouble for them..I guess..I can't help them at all...' she thought.

"I'm sorry I'm useless and trouble for you all...I tried, but all I'm doing is causing havoc...I'm sorry.." said Karin.

"Your becoming confused again...Calm yourself before you think of anything to say..." said Cecil. Koko became distressed for Karin, and immediately ruffled her feathers in defense, telling the two to back off and leave her alone. With her wings open like a ostrich would do in defense, she didn't attack, but gave a sincere warning to leave Karin alone. The Warrior of Light already knew this was gonna happen, Koko cared for Karin so much, so much like she was one of her own.

"I see...Koko cares about you alot..." said Cecil. Karin really didn't want anyone to back her up, but Koko did anyway, as if she knew what emotions Karin was going through.

"I'm sorry...It won't happen again...This I promise to the day I die...I will not disobey you...Again," said Karin, making a vow to her father and to the Warrior of Light to not disobey again. She needed to grow up fast, she's an adult now and her life had changed so much that she needs to quickly adjust for the future ahead. After an hour went by, everyone was asleep in their rooms. Karin laid in the back of her car, looking through the sun roof at the neatly starry sky. She felt sad and hurt, as if she really believed that she was burdening everyone. Memories of the happy moments everyone had with her keep playing in her head.

From the times she saved Zidane from his blood brother and saved Tidus from his vicious father. Memories of spending time with the Onion Knight, Tidus, Firion, Bartz, and Boko while on a quest to replace the broken tools and bonding with the Chocobos, discovering their sweet nature. More happy memories continued to play in her head, then the others were to Firion. He knew her pain of losing family all too well, because he lost both of them by the invasion of the Palamecian Empire from his world of Fynn; lead by none other than Emperor Mateus. She remembered the rose on the stand, the rose from Firion that he gave to her without her even knowing he did.

'I want a dream like that...To fill the world with Wild Roses...and peace, but I'm useless for them--' Her thought was then cutted off when she heard a familiar voice behind her. "I can't escape this feeling..." She turns around and spots Firion right next to her, looking into her eyes.

"These dreams...These feelings..I can't run away from it. Our dreams are telling the both of us that we were meant for one another, as if we were destined to be together by chance," said Firion.

"I don't know...I always thought I would never fall in love in my life, but now its happening to me for the first time...I don't know..." said Karin, scared and confused.

"...Karin...The pain from what happened to your mother is holding you back. I know this, because I went through the same thing as you..It took me an extremely long time to overcome it, but it was worth it...To move on with your life," said Firion, "The rose...I was thinking about you, so I placed it on the stand while you wasn't in there...I bet you can't escape love anymore.." Karin felt the feeling of affection beginning to build in her heart, but she was afraid to bring it to the front.

"Firion...I'm afraid the enemy will find this a weakness against us..They could take an advantage of this--" "I don't care of that anymore..." Firion said to Karin, grabbing hold of her shoulders, "All I care about...Is you..When I first saw you and met you, I knew we had something in common from our losses. I understand it all too well and I feel yours all too well with mine."

A droplet of tears flowed allitle from Karin's eyes. She knew this feeling was true and right, even if it lasted for a moment. "I...I...I want to share your dream...Of Wild Roses...Even if it might be some fairy tale to the others, but anything is possible if you put your mind to it..." said Karin. The two stared into each other's eyes for two minutes; then Firion began to move forward. "Firion...What are you doing?" asked Karin. She knew what he was going to do and she began to panic mentally. 'Karin...This is the right thing to do...This is our destiny and our fate..Together,' She thought to herself, calming herself down.

She then moved forward to Firion, knowing all to well what was about to happen. Following her heart's guidance, she places her left hand on the left side of Firion's face, as if trying to bring him closer to hers. With two more feet to go before the gap was filled between the two, they both each closed their eyes and their lips connected, embracing each other for the first time. They remained connected for only a minute and instantly broke for air and cuddled into one another for the remainder of the night into each other's arms. Unknown to the two, the Onion Knight sat outside of the SUV, overhearing the whole conversation. Even though he knows its wrong, but his curiosity overtook him.

"Its true...They are in love with each other..My theory was correct...Hmmm..." The Onion Knight said quietly to himself.

After an hour goes by and both Karin and Firion were asleep in the back of the car, the youth quietly opens the door to the SUV's passenger's side and gets in, pulling the seat back to sleep in it. 'Hmm...I know I'm gonna get it tommorow, but right now...I'm gonna go to sleep,' thought the youth. For the remainder of the night, the three sleeps in the car. Karin felt a sense of completion; now understanding that she isn't alone anymore and a sense that there really was someone out there for her, no matter what realm or world they came from, no matter the distance.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Let the Training Begin!

**'Love is a very powerful weapon of all weapons, but also a good weakness if the enemy learns it. With new resolve, the key learns to fight, with and without a tool of combat.**

**Don't be distracted from the path of justice and courage, young soul, this is your destiny on the path to victory. Do not stray from your path, stay focused and centered...Then your skills will blossom, just like a Wild Rose....'**

The newly risen sun shined into the car through the sun roof, highlighting the occupants inside as they slept inside the SUV. Karin was the first to stir, and almost immediately turned around to see if Firion was still laying with her, or he woke up early to help with the war. She saw that he was still with her, with his left arm around her waist as he continued to sleep right next to her. 'He hasn't woken up...And he is still here,' thought Karin and she moved into him, almost immediately waking him up.

"Hmm?..." Firion grumbled as he began to stir, then noticed that Karin was laying into him much closer than earlier. He immediately smirks and holds onto her longer, that is until they heard someone other than him or Karin snoring in the front passenger seat.

Karin hears this as well, and immediately sits up halfway and asked, "Who else is in here...Oh, no...Did they..?" Karin was now scared. Firion moves towards the front of the SUV and notices the front right seat leaned backwards, as if someone was laying in it, asleep. Karin accompanied Firion and as soon as the two peered into the seat, a feeling of anger and suprise mixed showed on both of their faces on the identity of the person sleeping in the seat. It was the Onion Knight, covered up with a red blanket, holding the teddy bear that Karin gave him earlier, helmet off and leaned back in the seat with a little jade green pillow under his head.

'That...Oh..!' thought Firion. Karin didn't find herself to get angry with the youth in the chair, it seemed curiosity got the best of him, just like what he said to her much earlier ago. Firion then shakes the Onion Knight lightly to wake him up and as soon as he opened his green colored eyes, he knew he was in trouble.

"Huh....What??..." the youth said as he looked towards Firion and Karin as he woke up further. "Uh, oh...!! I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to, but I was curious to see if my theory was correct!"

"Onion Knight...You heard us?" asked Firion. The youth began to panic, then held onto the teddy bear with a tight grip of his arms.

"No..Don't...He can't help it, curiosity overtook the poor guy..." said Karin. Firion acknowledged this and went back to the back of SUV and laid there for a few minutes longer, til Tidus arrived to the car and peered into the window. He saw both Firion and Karin laying with one another, and then said, "Oh, no you didn't!" The two looked up at the window to spot the Zanarkand blitzer looking at them.

"Tidus...Its not what you think.." said Karin, trying to explain the situation. "Oh, no it didn't happen!" Tidus continued, then a smirk-like smile appeared on his face, "Oh, it did!! Oh, my god! Guys, come here!"

"You little...I'm gonna strangle you!!" roared Firion, leaping out of the car to tackle Tidus, but he wasn't quick enough.

"What's going on?" asked Bartz, approaching the scene. "Something happened in the back of the SUV and it involves Karin and Firion!!" said Tidus, but then stopped to spot the Onion Knight in the front, "What are you doing in there? Did you see anything??"

"I don't know...I was asleep!" said the youth in the front passenger seat. "Get back here, Tidus!! I'm gonna kill you!" yelled Firion. Cecil and the rest, including the Chocobos, walk to the scene.

"What about Karin and Firion?" asked Cecil. Firion tried to catch up to the blitzer, but was unsucessful. Tidus tells Cecil about what he saw in the back of the SUV. Cecil was awed by this information, even the Warrior of Light, but didn't show it.

Karin was blushing, now everyone heard Tidus and turned to look at her and then to Firion. She immediately lowers herself to the floor, making sure not to be seen. The Onion Knight rushes out of the car with his blanket, pillow, teddy bear, and helmet back into the shack hideout, in fear of more trouble. Koko danced with excitement on her two bird feet with her wings open, and went to Karin and pecked lightly on her head with affection.

"Koko...Not now.." groaned Karin, her face and blush as red as a lobster. Koko didn't leave, and almost immediately, Boko shows up with the chicks and immediately peppered Karin with light pecks of affection.

The chicks crawl into the back and cuddles up to Karin. She held the little Chocobos and kept them together in her arms. Cecil approaches the scene and then asked Karin, "What happened?"

"Dad! Please..." said Karin. Firion catches up to Tidus and wraps his right arm around his neck in a chokehold, knocking him down. "Take this, blabber mouth!!" yelled Firion. It took Reno, Rude, Barret, and Cloud to get the two apart before they killed each other, or before Tidus got killed by Firion.

"Break it up, you guys!" said Reno. "Come on...You blabber mouth. No wonder you always almost get killed," Barret said to Tidus.

Yuna got fustrated and angry mixed into one and stomps to Tidus. "Oh, no...What's gonna happen now?" asked Cid.

"Dunno...Let's see and find out," answered Wakka. "Yunnie..." said Rikku.

"Gesh...Don't try to kill me..--" As soon as Tidus finished and turned to catch an angry Yuna heading his way. "Yuna...What's wrong?" he asked. In front of everyone, Yuna uses her right hand and slaps Tidus across the right side of his face, leaving a red hand print on his right cheek. "How could you do such a thing!! I don't believe you!!" Yuna yelled.

"Oooooohhhhh!!!!" everyone 'oh'ed'. "Ouch...That's gotta hurt.." said Auron with no emotion.

"Ow...Tough love," said Vincent.

"Hold on...Let me explain! Yuna! Wait!" Tidus called after Yuna, storming off. He follows after her, trying to explain.

"Ouch..That's gonna leave a mark..." said Bartz, placing his right hand on his right cheek, as if he also got slapped. Boko hides his head under his wings, as if stating, 'Ow! That looks painful..' The Onion Knight saw the scene from the inside and yelled after Tidus, "Serves you right! Jerk!"

"Oh, shut up!" Tidus yelled back. Firion explains the situation, embarrased at the same time. Karin went inside in tears and ran to her room, as if they didn't understand.

"I hope you all are happy!" yelled Firion, "I hope your proud....Look what you did! Making such a scene and look what happened next!!!" Everyone remained silent.

"The enemy will use this against you in battle as a handicap..--" "I'm done with all of you for now....I don't care anymore of this war or battle, and you all don't understand!!" Firion screamed at the Warrior of Light. He then storms off to Karin.

"I didn't do anything...So why is he yelling at us?" asked Wakka. "Because Firion loves her and neither of you understand," said the Onion Knight, walking outside to the group.

"In love? Is that so..." said Cloud. "Quiet..All of you," said the youth, "There is more...They both have a smiliar pain of losing their loved ones. I heard it all last night, and Firion's and Karin's dreams are telling them they were meant for each other.

"She had dreams...Of Firion?" asked Bartz. "As if by destiny, they were meant to be together by fate. Karin has told me her dream, but I won't tell you...I made myself a vow to not tell it to a soul and that is what I'm gonna do til I die either a natrual death or in battle," said the Onion Knight, "They're angry at all of you, including me. I'm not spared of this, but this is the price I am willing to pay." Inside Karin's room, Firion and Karin stared at the rose in the vase, saddened by the situation at hand. "They won't understand...They never will...I guess..We're on our own," said Firion. The door begins to open and then a Chocobo pokes its head in. It was Koko.

She chirps with concern, and both her, the chicks, and Boko waddle in. They made their way to the two, lowering their heads in sadness.

"I don't think we're alone...Right, Koko?" asked Karin, petting Koko's head. After a few hours, Yuna finally calms down and realized that she now hurted Tidus emotionally. She rushes to Tidus's room and finds him slumped to the front of the bed, crying. 'Oh, no...Now I gone and done it..' thought Yuna.

"Tidus..." Yuna said calmly. Tidus looked up, then he said through a veil of tears, "Oh now your listening to me...I tried to explain, but instead you hurted me..." He points to the right side of his face, directly at the red hand mark, "And yelled at me...I guess..I'm nothing to you, just a..Lost soul.."

Yuna was shocked, now she knew she caused alot of emotional damage to the man she cared about since she first met him as a summoner. Then Yuna heard the door open, and Lorena walks in, but soon stopped, "Oops! Sorry, I didn't notice there was something going on..I'm going!" "No...Wait...I think you came at the right time," said Yuna, realizing that Lorena could help in their situation. Cecil walks into Karin's room, noticing the Chocobos and Firion were in there with her.

"Karin....What's going on? The Onion Knight told us what was going on...But there was one detail he was determined to keep secret..Please, talk to me..Your making me feel I'm not a good parent," said Cecil with sadness.

"Only the Chocobos understand us...I'm sorry, dad, but I don't think you do...Like the others," said Karin.

"Cecil...The Onion Knight is speaking the truth. Ever since we met for the first time, it was like we were meant for each other through dreams...All we do is fight, but don't seem to understand that love is a powerful weapon of all weapons in this world...We need to know what its like to be in love," said Firion, facing the paladin form of Cecil with a look of honesty and sincereness in his face.

"Firion...I never knew there would be someone out there for her..Its mostly her alone, but then you came along and you both instantly connected...Karin, why didn't you tell me about your dream?" asked Cecil.

"...I don't know...I thought it was just a dream...But...I guess it happened. I'm scared and nervous..." said Karin. Koko nuzzled up to Karin's face, giving some support to her in a Chocobo way.

"I bet Koko will help you...She's been through the same thing with Boko. If there's anything you want to talk to me about...Don't leave me behind," said Cecil, "I want to make up for the things I missed...Things that I regret not being there for, like...Hmm..."

"School Graduation?" asked Karin. "Yes...That as well..." replied Cecil. Lorena arrives to the scene, then went to Karin. Koko fluttered her feathers and waddled to Lorena, nuzzling her as well.

"Oh, Koko...Such a sweetheart...What'd I miss?" asked Lorena. Cecil turns to Lorena and said, "Don't ask me, ask your friend."

Lorena turns to Karin, then askes, "What's going on? I heard rumors about you and him in the back of the SUV..What happened?" Karin began to blush. Firion explains the senerio, also blushing as red as a lobster. Lorena puts both hands over her mouth and said, "Oh my gawd....No way! Oh, Kar...Your very first kiss..Lucky girl." She then hugs Karin, just like any friend would. She then turned to Firion and as well hugged him, sharing the love. Boko also shared the love, fluttering his feathers and hugging Karin from behind her.

"Boko...Awww..." said Karin. The Chocobo chirped. After an hour went by, the Warrior of Light walks into Karin's room, without his sword and sheild in hand.

Karin was beginning to expect the worse. She knew the Warrior of Light was right about one thing: The enemy can use this 'Love' to their advantage against them, but maybe, she believed it can used against the enemy as well. A catch everyone knows. The opposite happened yet again, and the Warrior of Light didn't show any emotion in his face, but only in his voice.

"It is time...It seems that your victories either of luck, or valor has gotten you stronger in the battlefield, I believe you are ready for training to combat against the soldiers of Chaos," said the Warrior of Light.

Karin was stunned, "Training? I don't know...I'm afraid I'm gonna screw this up for you guys..I--" Before Karin finished, she sees the Warrior of Light remove his helmet, revealing his silver hair underneath. "Through the Onion Knight, he said you were sick of being a target to them...Now is your chance to prove it to them," said the Warrior of Light. Karin knew he was right and was determined to show Chaos's soldiers that she isn't no one's target.

"I guess I have to learn how to fight, too. Its mostly Karin getting me out of there earlier, but not this time...When do we start?" asked Lorena. Silence filled the room. Lorena was embarrassed, "Maybe I should've shutted up..."

"That's not it..." said Cecil. More silence continued. "Now? We start now?" asked Lorena.

Everyone except Karin and Lorena nods, including Boko, Koko, and the baby Chocobos. "Oh, boy...Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut...My mouth tends to get me in trouble, huh, Karin?" asked Lorena.

"Yep...And I always deal with it..No offense," answered Karin. "Point taken," replied Lorena. At the back of the hideout, Karin's and Lorena's first lesson in combat was about to begin. Lorena's 'sensai' on the first lesson was the Warrior of Light, learning how to use a sword and a sheild.

"Are you prepared?" asked the Warrior of Light. "Not sure...But there's no turning back, now," answered Lorena.

Karin's first lesson was to begin with the former legendary guardian of High Summoner Braska: Auron, who happens to also be Tidus's mentor. Armed with only one sword, Karin wasn't sure if she could take on this legendary warrior; even if its part of the lesson. Tidus watched from the side-lines, holding onto a Blitzball with both arms.

"Don't be afraid..Trust in your blade...And it will guide you to your victory," Auron said to Karin. She nodded and the first practice fight was about to begin. The Warrior of Light swung his sword at his opponent, but by instinct, Lorena blocks the attack with the shield. She swings back with her sword, but it collided with the Warrior of Light's own sword into a stalmate.

"You are learning quickly...You can also disarm your opponent of their weapons, try disarmming me of my blade...Take your time..." said the Warrior of Light.

Lorena tried many ways to disarm the knight of his sword, but everytime she tried, he would always retaliate with his sheild. She even tried whacking the flat front of her sheild on the top of his hand, but it was no use.

"The enemy won't simply let you disarm them like this, they will try to counter you. Learn their counters and find ways to break their guard..." the Warrior of Light advised. Lorena didn't want to give up, she was determined to get that sword out of his hand. Karin tried to block Auron's attack with her sword just like how he did, but it seemed it wasn't working at her level of newbie. 'Dang it...How come I can't get it?...' thought Karin in distress.

Auron immediately sensed her distress and ceased movements, then spoke, "You must anticipate when the enemy is going to strike. That way you can block the attack before it hits you...Watch the enemy's movements carefully, then block when needed." Karin now figured out why her defenses weren't good, it was because she was blocking at the wrong timing.

'Of, course! I was messing up at wrong timings! That's why he was able to get through...Let me try this again, once more!' thought Karin. She has seen how Auron moves when he attacks for a few minutes now, he would rush over with his blade to the side like a samurai, despite the blade's sheer size.

Auron rushes to Karin with his blade in one hand for an attack. Karin knew he was going to attack, but now she had to wait before Auron strikes to sucessfully block the attack from his sword. Time seemed to slow down around the two, then at the right moment, Auron swung his sword up to attack Karin, and she was waiting to block the attack all into her sword.

'Now! He's about to nail you!' Karin screamed in her mind. At the right moment, she uses her sword as a sheild and fully blocks the attack, not taking any damage from the attack. Auron leaps back one space, then puts his sword's blade into the ground and said, "Very good. You have learned how to block sucessfully. Some enemies can strike without notice, even at a quick speed. Always keep your guard up, no matter the environment."

Lorena was about had it with trying to disarm the Warrior of Light, but then an idea popped into her head. She tries yet again, clashing her blade into his. As soon as she was close enough, she slams the sheild into the Warrior of Light's face, and uses the end of her sword's hilt to knock the sword out of his hand, thus concluding her lesson, but she had to tend with the Warrior of Light, who fell backwards on his back with his hands over his face in pain.

"Oh, gezz! I'm sorry!" said Lorena, helping the Warrior of Light up to his feet.

"Its alright...I see you came up with a stradegy to disarm me..You have learned well. This stradegy won't work on all enemies, this means you must come up with new tatics to disarm them of their weapons. Watch their moves carefully to learn their weak points," said the Warrior of Light.

After a few hours of practicing to block, the next lesson from the former guardian was to strike an opponent before he or she striked at Karin. Karin keeps her eyes peeled on her surroundings, watching to see where Auron would come from to strike. When she thought he was coming at her from the left, he attacks from the far right corner instead. Karin leaps away and tries again. 'Dang...He's good...Where..Gah!' her thought was cut off when Auron attacked from behind, she ducks as the sword swung over her head. "Gah! Where did you come from??!" shouted Karin. There was no way to detect him, but soon Auron ceases the attack and places the tip of his sword into the ground, offering more advice.

"Your only relieing on your eyes, not your other senses. Don't trust your eyes, they aren't very reliable at times, trust your senses when your eyes fail.." said Auron. Karin understood. 'My eyes aren't much help here...I gotta use my other senses..Like those ninjas from those Japanese movies I occasionally watch..But this isn't a movie, its reality..Let's try this again,' thought Karin. As quick as Karin looked up, Auron was gone. She knew what was going to happen. Instead of looking around and trying to track the former guardian, she closed her eyes and listened to only the sounds of her surroundings, blocking out the other sounds from Lorena's training.

She instantly heard a twig snap in the distance. 'He's in the shrubs...And moving to...The left...' thought Karin. The sounds of bushes and branches swishing from being moved ceased, then it went to another direction.

'Now the right...What is Braska's former guardian up to?' thought Karin. the sounds immediately ceased, then moved to the left towards the center; then ceased. 'Hmm...He stopped, but is he gonna move again?' Karin asked herself. She waited a few minutes and waited, til her answer was coming straight at her. Auron, without no battlecry, runs at Karin with her back turned, but by listening to the sounds of his footsteps, she knew where he was coming from.

'Now! He's attacking from behind!' Karin screamed in her mind. Using the top of the blade, not the sharp end and immediately turns around to face the guardian coming at her and swipes at the middle of his head, only flinging the shades into the air that were on his face. Auron stopped, knowing that Karin has completed her requirement of the lesson. The shades then land to the ground near both Karin and Auron and as soon as Auron lifted his head to face Karin, his scarred, closed left eye was visible.

"Impressive...You tracked my movements well," said Auron, "Some enemies don't make sound when they move around to attack, trust your other senses to survive...They won't fail."

Karin nods, then goes to pick up the shades on the ground and hands it back to Auron. "Here..This belongs to you," said Karin. After hours of practicing, the two girls mastered each of their essential skills, such as blocking, disarming, and sensing their environments to attack an opponent that is hard to track. Three days pass and more training continued. Karin wanted to test them against the real opponents, but she knew she might get killed and her father wouldn't like that. As a new day was beginning to begin, a new lesson was waiting for Lorena and Karin. Back behind the hideout, Lorena's next teacher is Bartz himself, while Karin's teacher is Tidus.

"Here is your next lesson," said Bartz, "The enemy's greatest weapon can also be their downfall to you. Mimicking your opponent's strength can instantly become their weakness if you watch how they attack carefully. Mimicry is my specialty, because of my alias as 'The Mimic Warrior'."

"So..In order to defeat your opponent and learn about them more, you must become the enemy itself?" asked Lorena.

"Exactly..In order to defeat me, you must become me...Shall we start?" said Bartz, armed with his sword. Tidus walks to the battlefield with a lesson for Karin on agility.

"Speed is an important factor in battle, the quicker you are, the good the chances to survive. You need to stay on your toes against your enemy as they attack, you'll need it more when they strike," said Tidus. Karin listened carefully to every detail, not missing anything important. Tidus demonstrated his skills of agility he mastered as a Blitzball player from the Zanarkand Abes when the city was still there, before it became ruins by the monster, Sin. Karin dodged each attack with as much speed as her body can muster. Lorena tried to understand how Bartz attacked, but most of it was by copying his opponent's moves to his own. His weapon continously changed shape from Cloud's sword to a gunblade and to Zidane's weapon.

Lorena knew she had to become Klauser to win, so she tried copying his attacks to her own, using them against him. As soon as Lorena figured it out, she copies each of Bartz's moves to attack him, using it against him as he said. Just when Lorena performed the 'Wind Shear' sword technique, spinning in a circle, she knocks Bartz on a platform about a yard up with a ladder. When she looked to Bartz as he got up, Lorena discovers Bartz's greatest weakness: Heights. Paralyzed with fear, he began to quiver and sweat perfusly, wide eyed and panicked.

"What the? Are you alright!?" Lorena called out. Karin saw the situation and so did Tidus and immediately ceased for a minute.

"Lorena! Bartz is afraid of heights!" Karin called out. Lorena now understood why Bartz stood still in fear up there.

"Hang on! I'm gonna get you down from there, stay where you are!" said Lorena, rushing to Bartz. Boko chirped with worry. Lorena arrives to the scene. "Hang on...I got ya, don't look down," Lorena carries Bartz down on the ladder and climbs down to solid ground and almost immediately the Mimic Warrior recovered, sighing in relief. Boko arrives to the scene.

"Why didn't you tell me anything that your afraid of heights? I know if you ask the bad guys, they won't tell you nothing, but why not you..." questioned Lorena.

"I didn't want to tell you of it...Afraid you could use it against me," said Bartz, returning to normal. Lorena understood why, but why didn't he? Her and him were on the same side. After a hard days worth of training under the other's guidence. Everyone turned in for the night, except the Onion Knight, who was going to pull an all nighter on his research on Geo-Stigma. Lorena slept peacefully in her bed, as if nothing is going on. A dream begins to envelope her, a dream that was alittle strange to her. In the dream, she appeared older than she is in reality, riding on a Chocobo through a valley right filled with more Chocobos.

The Chocobo was actually Koko, but why is a mystery to Lorena's spirit, watching the scene with no will of her own. As she continued onward, another Chocobo arrives next to her, and the rider was familiar to Lorena's spirit and the dream Lorena. The Chocobo was Boko, and on his back was none other than Bartz Klauser. They rode together on their Chocobos and traveled the world on their saddled backs. As if by accident, or intentionally, the two Chocobos drew closer to one another and Lorena leans into Bartz and he leans into her back. The two giggled and looked into each other's eyes, moving closer to one another, but the dream soon ended, and Lorena woke up in a daze.

"What the..?? What kind of dream was that?..Hmm..." said Lorena, trying to calm down. As soon as she did, she eventually fell back to sleep and stayed that way, til the dream kept replaying throught out the night, like a broken record repeating itself. The dream was telling her something, but she needed to wait til tommorow to find out what the message was.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Magic Training\ A Forseen Love of a Wanderer

**'Magic is a key to the impossible. A far, up close, it doesn't matter, it makes all life begin and also ends. All life has a form of magic inside their souls, only to fulfill its desired purpose....**

**A wondering love forseen through dreams, wild in the valleys of the unstretchable wilderness. The winds of destiny is blown to two wondering souls, melding into one as a force of nature. Can love really move a wanderer, or will he suffer under a dying wind...'**

The brand new day brought new challenges to both Karin and Lorena. Now their lessons were now on a new topic: Magic. To learn how to cast magic, each of the girls had a teacher that is an expert and able to cast magic themselves. Lorena was under the guidence of both Terra and Lulu, while Karin was guided by the Onion Knight and Yuna, who still knew magic back in the day she was a summoner. Lulu demonstrated the spell, Firaga, causing the block of wood to explode in flames, burning from the hungry flames that feed off of it like a parasite.

"Just like I told you...Don't worry if you get it wrong...First tries are never perfect, it takes alot of practice," said Lulu as a way of saying 'Nobody's perfect.'

Lorena raises her right hand and focused on the block of wood, making sure she was aiming at it and no one else as a target. "Firaga!" Lorena shouted out, but instead of torching the wood block, somehow Tidus's hair is engulfed with flames.

"Waahhh!!! Not my hair!! Gaahhh!!" screamed Tidus, running around with his hair on fire.

"Tidus! Stop drop and roll!!" screamed Reno. Tidus did as he was told and immediately the fire was extinguished. "Guhh...Aim for the wood, not me..." Tidus groaned. Lorena covered her mouth with her left hand, "Oh, my god...Sorry!!"

"Wow...That was amazing...Let's try to aim at the block of wood, this time...That was funny, though," said Lulu.

Karin had even harder luck. She tried to cast 'Comet' a spell the Onion Knight knew. As she did, poor Karin wouldn't control it and aim at Squall, Bartz, and possibly others and they would duck out of the way in haste.

"Oh, gezz! I'm sorry! Please don't tell me I hurted someone!" cried Karin. Squall rose his head up and said, "Nope, we're good..I think.." Cid rose his head up as well. A broken piece of a wooden beam dangled above Cid's head and then it fell and banged on his head like a hammer, causing the mechanic to scream in pain.

"Gahh!! Ow...Stupid piece of wood! Grah!...I'm okay!" Cid called out after throwing the chunk of wood away from him.

"To be honest...It took me an extremely long time to perfect this spell when I learned it...Its tough, but practice makes perfect," said the Onion Knight, "You can cast it, but you need better control over it to make sure not to hurt your allies, but hurt the enemy instead..It takes time, don't get discouraged." Lorena tried as best as she could and was determined to make the block of wood into a miniature bon-fire. The second try accidentally torched her father's tail, causing him to run around like a chicken with its head cut off and the third; it putted Bartz's hair on fire, turning him into a torch.

"Here's some advice," said Terra, calming a discouraged Lorena, "Try visualizing the wood burning..."

"Okay...I'll try.." said Lorena. She looks at the block of wood, then thought, 'Okay..Imagine the wood burning...Visualize it..' On her fourth try, she finally gets it. 'Here we go...' Lorena thought. "Firaga!" Lorena called out, this time hitting the block of wood with a fiery result.

"Yeah!" Wakka cheered out. "At least I ain't a torch!" Tidus said, but then Lorena putted his hair back on fire again, just for the heck of it.

"Gaaaahhh!!! Not again!! Wah!" Tidus screamed, leaping into a water pool and extinguishing the flames.

"Ooohhh...That's gonna burn..Nice," said Lulu while Lorena giggled, but Terra was the only one worried for Tidus.

"Tidus! Are you alright!?" Terra called out. Karin wanted to learn 'Comet', but it seemed it was too difficult for her. Just as she was about to give up, her father's voice was heard, "Don't give up, Karin, keep trying!" She looks towards Cecil, filling with new determination. As well as Cecil, Firion yelled out, "Don't get discouraged! You can do it...Believe!" Karin knew this spell could help her against Chaos and his soldiers, but she needed to master it. Refusing to give up, she tries again.

'Here we go...' thought Karin, then instead of saying 'Comet', she uses the one phrase the Onion Knight himself says when casting it.

"Stars unite!" Karin said, copying the Onion Knight. Each comet hitted the targets setted up by Yuna and the Onion Knight, with more control and a steadier aim. All the targets shattered into fragments, completing the requirement for the teaching of 'Comet'. Everyone clapped in celebration, including Lorena.

"Whoo! Yeah!" cheered Tidus. "Well done! Ya did it!" cheered Cid, still in the rubble from earlier.

"You bested me...It took me alot longer than this.." said the Onion Knight in awe, "You nailed it, congratulations!" Karin was blushing as everyone cheered for her accomplishment.

The day turned to night as everyone settled down for bed, and Lorena had finally mastered a couple spells: Blizzard and Firaga, and some other spells that are extremely important like Curaga, Regen, and Esuna. She heads to her room, which she shares with Bartz. When the adventurer heard there was no more rooms left, he sacrificed half of his room for Lorena and her things. As Lorena entered the room, she notices Bartz looking at a yellow colored feather with the end in a quill-like holder. It was his feather charm that acts as good luck, and one of Boko's feathers that fell off. She didn't want to bother him in his thoughts, so she went to her bed quietly, but then she heard Bartz speak to her.

"I've been having a strange dream for a while," he said, "And its like..Your in them all the time..Does this mean we were supposed to meet, too? Like Firion and Karin?"

"Was it a dream of both of us riding on Chocobos and we're leaning into each other and it ends before we...Your having them, too?" asked Lorena, "What is going on!?" Bartz gets up from his bed, putting the feather charm on a stand near it. He walks to Lorena and then said, "I think the winds of destinies have brought us together for a reason....We share a common thing of losing a loved one...When I was young..I played hide and go seek with some others my age and I ended up falling off a two story building, that is how I'm terribly afraid of heights."

"My god...I'm sorry..." said Lorena. "My mother died when I was young, too..Then when I got older, my father died, but his final wish was for me to travel the world, wander to anywhere I please. When I found a flock of Chocobos, there was a stray one and I named it 'Boko' and we immediately became friends and traveled together around the world," said Bartz.

"Awww...That was sweet of you...Befriending Boko back then..And then Boko met Koko, got married and had a little family of six to seven chicks," said Lorena, "But why are you telling me this? These things might be too personal and...Bartz?" Bartz looked directly into Lorena's eyes.

"So you can know me alittle more better...Lorena..." answered Bartz, leaning closer to Lorena. She knew what was going to happen, but she didn't leave, she knew this dream was telling her something and this was the answer right in her face. "I...I never...Gotten this far in a relationship...Well..I never had any...Hm?" Lorena started, but then she noticed the adventurer moving closer ever more to her, lightly pinning her to her side of the room's wall. This feeling ever since meeting him for the first time as an encounter, she knew that this is destiny, just like Firion and Karin. "I'm...I'm scared...I--" before she even got a chance to finish her sentence, their lips connected without her noticing.

Lorena's eyes were open in shock, wide open, til she felt a feeling that this was right. Now closing her eyes, she instantly relaxes in content. They stayed this way for a few seconds. As if acting on instinct, she wraps her arms around Bartz's neck and stayed that way for a minute, til they broke for air, staring into each others's eyes. Spying through the keyhole, Boko and Koko watched the scene, chirping quietly to themselves in happiness. The chicks were also present, chirping quietly among themselves and their parents. Lorena then felt a feeling of sadness in Bartz's heart, a sense of loneliness in the young adventurer, then said, "It..Must've been lonely traveling alone with only Boko...If only..We met earlier..." She then embraced Bartz and once more their lips connected again, only for two minutes, a minute longer that the first.

Boko chirped and cooed quietly, then as soon as five minutes went by, the Chocobos got up and went back to Karin's room. Both Lorena and Bartz laid together in the bed in each others's arms, holding onto one another for the remainder of the night in an embrace. Destiny has played a role for them as well as Karin and Firion. The winds of destiny has blown through them and Lorena's and Bartz's loneliness has disappeared, since it did from the beginning when they first met, their very first and not last encounter.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Morning Meeting\ Items against Geo-Stigma Revealed #1: A Elixir of Music

**'Artifacts have been scattered, awaiting the worthy soul to obtain them from their wakes against a venomous poison. Hidden away in a house of music, only the worthy one in song shall obtain its qualities....'**

*******The Pilgrims are gathering and the marching band, the marching band's howling, Compassion is the flag a righteous man, a righteous man will hold*****---**From Your Favorite Enemies's 'The Messenger', 'Chaos', and 'Cosmos' from Dissidia Final Fantasy OST. (Lyrics).

The morning sky lit up with hues and colors of orange, light blue, and small tints of red to pink. The disc of a sun rose from its horizon position, lighting the sky up with its brilliant light. A few more hours pass, and everyone began to stir from their beds. Karin was the first to wake up.

"Guuuhhh...What a night..." she yawned. As if on cue, Koko wakes up and shakes herself awake, fluttering her feathers in the process. Koko then turns to Karin and gives her a 'Good Morning' peck. "Awww...Thank you, Koko..." said Karin, giving the female Chocobo a 'Good Morning' hug.

The chicks immediately woke up and went to wake the others still in bed. The first of the chicks went inside the lab where the Onion Knight was working, asleep from exhaustion with his head on his arms, still wearing the knight-like helmet on his head. The chick climbs up the cabinet drawers that it opened and used it as a ladder to get to the still slumbering youth, determined to wake him up. It makes it on the desk and waddles its way to the Onion Knight, lightly poking its head in between his arms and head and lightly pecks him awake. He begins to move, but in response moves away from the source of the nuisance and went to lay his head down, but there wasn't anymore desks near him and he immediately falls out of his chair onto the floor, jolting him awake fully.

"Gah ya...What the..??" The youth said as he halfly rose himself up. The chick returns to the floor and approaches the Onion Knight, and pecks him lightly with a heart over its head. "Oh, you...Your lucky your so cute...Alright, I'm up," said the Onion Knight, getting up from the floor. The second of the chicks then went to a dark room with a sword near the stand to the left side of the bed. In the black covered mattress, Cloud was still asleep, til the chick managed to get up on the bed and began lightly pecking the blonde swordsman awake.

"Huh..What the...?" Cloud said as he began to wake up. He then turned to the source of the pecking and saw a Chocobo chick right next to his face.

It peered into Cloud's blue eyes and gave a light peck of affection with a heart over its head. "Awww...Your my alarm clock now?...Alright, I'm getting up," said Cloud. The third chick waddles its way to the next room and the fourth one followed into a room where both Tidus and Yuna occupied. Still asleep in the bed, the two laid side by side. One of the chicks move towards Tidus and hops on him as he laid on his back and began jumping on him in a way of saying 'Get up!'. The fourth got in between the two and begins to peck lightly to wake up Yuna, who slept on her side right next to Tidus.

"Huh? What the...Hey!" Tidus said, spotting the chick jumping on him, "What do you think your doing?" The chick stopped and gave a peck of affection with a heart over its head.

"Aww...Are you my Chocobo alarm clock? Sweet little thing..." said Tidus. Yuna begins to stir as the fourth chick pecked her awake. "Hmmm? What the? Oh, hello..." said Yuna. The chick stopped for a second and with a heart over its head, it gave its affection.

"You little cutie...I'm up..." said Yuna, rising from the bed, "Tidus..Your awake already?"

"Yep..Its all thanks to this amazing alarm clock...Right, little guy?" answered Tidus, lifting the chick up with his left hand. The chick chirped in happiness and flapped its wings.

The fifth accompanied the first and went to another room that was occupied with the SeeD mercenary: Squall Leonhart, while the second and sixth went to wake the thief, Zidane, up. The first chick helps the fifth in teamwork onto the charcoal grey colored covered mattress and went near the slumbering Squall. The first chick, helped by the fifth gets up there as well and both began fluttering their feathers, tickling the mercenary awake.

"Hey...Hey...Cut it out..I'm up, I'm up..Huh?" Squall mumbled as he awoke from his sleep, spotting the chicks near him, "You know..I'm not good with children." The chicks then both gave a peck of affection, accompanied by a heart over their heads. Squall shook his head, then petted them.

The second chick watched the swaying of Zidane's tail as the thief slumbered and tried to catch it with its beak. The sixth chick joined in, trying to snatch Zidane's tail. On their second and third try, the second chick grasps onto the thief's tail and as if by instinct, Zidane 'fishes' the chick to him, showing he was half awake.

"And what do you think your doing?" cooed the genome thief. The sixth walked around to face Zidane and gave him a peck of affection, with a red heart over its head. The second chick accompanied its partner with a heart over its head as well. The third chick and the shy seventh went to the next room to wake the Warrior of Light, while the fourth chick went to wake Terra up.

Everyone else began to wake up on their own, heading down to the hall for breakfast. Tidus then headed to Bartz's room to wake him up, including Lorena. He was followed by Boko.

"Hey, Bartz..Time to get up..--" His thought was cut off when he saw both Bartz and Lorena laying together, like Firion and Karin, but not in the back of a car. "Oh, god...It did not happen! Oh, my god!" said Tidus.

"Keep it up and I will tell this to Yuna myself and watch her smack the left side of your face.." mumbled Bartz. Tidus touches the still visible hand print and hisses in pain. Boko then knocks Tidus onto the floor and chirped, waddling his way to his friend.

"Oh, Boko...I heard you chirping out there..And the rest of the family. What's the big idea, huh?" said Bartz, "I thought we were buddies?" Boko then gave his 'Good Morning' peck and did the exact same thing with Lorena, who then woke up by contact.

"Oh...Good morning, Boko..." said Lorena, petting the Chocobo, "How was your sleep?" Boko chirped and fluttered his feathers. Boko then went to Tidus and pecked at the back of his head.

"Hey! Meanie! Stop that!" said Tidus. Boko then sat on Tidus's back, refusing to get up. "Hey! Big..Meanie--" Bartz immediately starts cackling, holding his stomach from laughing so much.

"Oh, shut up.." said Tidus. "Are you gonna cry? Its exactly how your father says it. Are you gonna cry?" said Bartz, imitating Jecht.

"Don't start mimicking my old man...Boko!" yelled Tidus, "Oh, man..Your heavy!" Boko then pecked at Tidus's head again.

"Hey! I'm not saying your fat," said Tidus. "Ooooohhh....Tidus thinks your fat," said Bartz.

"No I'm not, now get your heavy friend of my back!" said Tidus. "Cry baby..." said Bartz. Tidus has heard this too many times and it all came from his father, Jecht.

"Don't you start it...I had enough of being called that," fumed Tidus. "....cry baby...." muttered Bartz.

"Just get your fat Chocobo off my back!" said Tidus. A pulsing angermark appeared on Boko's head and Tidus was punished with a few pecks on the head. Cloud stood outside, wide eyed.

"Oooooh...Get him, Boko...No one calls you 'fat' and gets away with it," said Lorena. "Who's side are you on?!" cried Tidus, as if he was about to bawl.

"Cry baby!" shouted Bartz, "Okay, Boko...I think you tortured this rising blitzer enough, let's let him go." Boko gets up and as soon as Tidus got up, he starts whining.

"I want Yuna! Yuna!" cried Tidus, walking out the room with his arms out as if he wanted a hug, crying to Yuna. Bartz walks to the door and yells out, "Cry baby!"

"Shut up!...Yuna! A Chocobo sat on me!" whined Tidus. As a sole witness, Cloud kept quiet and walked away, whistling a tune to himself. The chicks then reunited, heading in Cecil's room together. Unknown to the little Chocobos, Karin was watching the scene as she made her way to her father's room. The chicks gathered around the light purple covered mattress where the dark knight\paladin slept.

They begin pecking at him, but soon was halted when Cecil turned to the other side by instinct of getting away from the nuisance. The chicks refused to give up and began pecking at the back of his silver haired head.

"Guhhh...Stop...I need more..Sleep..." mumbled Cecil, shooing the chicks away. Karin walks in and notices the chick's valor and then quieted them. It was her turn to try. Everyone was outside giggling, as if they all know what's about to happen.

"Hey! The enemy's attacking us!" shouted Karin, right near Cecil's face. He immediately wakes up in a panic and amazingly fell out of the bed, front first.

"Gah...What the..?" wondered Cecil as he looked up.

Karin and everyone started laughing at Cecil, as if they were part of the joke; or just witnesses. Cecil was not happy to be tricked like that, but how can he even yell at them? Its not part of his personality, so he gets up quietly, speaking no words.

"Oh, come on...It was just a joke...Lighten up," said Karin, apologizing in the process. "Have you heard a story about a boy who cried wolf?" asked Cecil, breaking his silence, "He keeps it up til they don't believe him anymore, even when he's not kidding in the end." Karin was about to say something, but knew it wouldn't matter, so she remained silent and walked out.

"Gezz, Cecil...She was just playing with you, you can't even take a joke?" asked Tidus.

"Not anymore...I wish I could, but I can't," replied Cecil. "You take things too seriously; like the Warrior of Light," said Tidus,

"Maybe you should have some fun once and a while..Loosen up a bit." Cecil had a sadden look on his face, then a single tear flowed down the left side of his face. The chicks chirped in sadness, worried about the paladin. By watching how the chicks were acting, Tidus sensed something amiss.

"You okay?" he asked. Cecil kept his back turned, then said, "I'm alright...I'll...hmm...I'll just stay here, then," Tidus didn't want to leave, but he had to, so he went to where the others were; without Cecil.

The chicks chirped in sadness and went to follow Tidus, leaving Cecil alone in his room. The Warrior of Light approaches the door enroute to the hall, and notices something amiss with Cecil.

"What is bothering you? Is it about Golbez?" asked the Warrior of Light. "...Why is he doing this again? He's on sides with Chaos, but isn't really on no one's side...Why is he doing this?" Cecil pondered, shedding more tears.

"He maybe on no one's side, but he's on the wrong side..." said the Warrior of Light. "But he's my brother!!" yelled Cecil, but then stopped. He couldn't believe it, he yelled at the Warrior of Light. With both hands over his mouth, he turns away and faces the wall behind him, in shock.

'Oh, god...Did I..Yell at him?? Oh, god I did..' thought Cecil. "Cecil?" said the Warrior of Light.

"I've caused enough damage already..Go on...I'll be fine here..." said Cecil, standing with his back turned to the Warrior of Light. Back in the hall, everyone heard the commotion, shocked of what they heard.

"I think Cecil has issues about his brother...I never did like Golbez," said Bartz. "Me, too. Besides, he's an enemy, and you know what we do to the enemies," said Tidus. Karin ate her food, then said, "They're brothers, they're like family no matter whose side they're on." The group pondered this, then Tidus said, "Well, my old man doesn't count..."

"Oh, come on...The blood of a blitzer runs through both of your veins," said Karin.

"Karin...I think Tidus is serious," said Lorena. Then in front of everyone, Tidus mutters, "...One of these days...I'll show him who's better...That jerk..." Karin couldn't believe it, Tidus actually called Jecht a 'jerk'. Since she played 'Final Fantasy X', she knows why. The Warrior of Light arrives, but Cecil hasn't arrived. Karin was worried. She immediately gets up and asks, "Where is Cecil?" "He's still in his room...He is distressed about the events involving his brother, Golbez," answered the Warrior of Light. Karin knew Cecil was upset, but there was one thing that was making her angry: The Warrior of Light's lack of emotion to the situation. Karin finally snaps.

"Why aren't you trying to help him? Is it not part of your duty as a knight?!" Karin yelled, pushing the Warrior of Light backwards. Everyone panics, hiding behind the tables, but only Yuna and Tifa remained out.

"Oh, snaps! She snapped..." whispered Bartz.

"Why don't you show some compassion!? Isn't that too hard for you!" Karin continued. The Warrior of Light stood in fear, not moving an inch. Lorena rushes to Karin, then pulls her away from the Warrior of Light.

"I think he gets the point, come on, Kar..." said Lorena. Sighing in relief, the Warrior of Light walks on step foward, that is until Koko knocks him backwards back on the floor with both her feet.

"Oooooooohhhh!" everyone 'oh'ed'. "Boko! Koko's gone 'Coco'!" shouted Bartz. Boko rushes to Koko and tries to calm her by grooming her feathers, but she insisted on finishing what Karin started. Koko was about to pounce on the knight, but a familiar spear-like weapon was pointing at her. Koko panics and flees, Boko does the same. Cecil walks in, then asked,

"When will you people learn to stay out of people's affairs? Where's my answer!?" Everyone silenced. Tidus hid under a table,

"Uh...Because we worry about you? Heh he he heh...." Tidus chuckled. Cecil was still peeved. Tidus began to cry like a three year old, "I want my mommy!"

Boko continued to groom Koko. The Onion Knight had a chair in front of him as a shield, hiding himself from an angry paladin. Bartz also hid under the table with Tidus, crying together. The Warrior of Light tried to get out of the room in fear, but the paladin then spoke, "My daughter is right, after all..." The knight stopped in his tracks.

"Why is it hard for you to show compassion? Answer me..." said Cecil. The Warrior of Light doesn't speak. The reason was clear to Cecil, the knight really doesn't have no answer.

"I thought so...Now enough of this quarrel, let's eat," said Cecil, somehow returning to his old self.

"Waaaahhhh!!" cried both Bartz and Tidus. Now all together, everyone ate in peace, and some were afraid that Cecil will snap again. The Onion Knight ate his food quickly, hoping to get a chance to get out of there. Boko ate his share of Gysahl greens, while the other half was to Koko and the chicks. Bartz shakenly takes a sip of water in the glass, spilling a few drops on himself and a baby Chocobo below. It shook the drops away off its feathers and waddles away. Everyone else wasn't afraid like them, but Tidus was even more scared.

"Why is everyone silent?--" Gaahhh!!! I didn't do anything! I swear!" screamed Tidus, instantly dropping the glass of water to the floor, getting a Chocobo chick wet.

The chick shook the water off its feathered and cursed in chirps. "Oh, god, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Tidus apologized to the chick. Cecil was confused, "What's his problem?" The Onion Knight accidentally spills some of the water on himself, then said, "He..He got hit by a blitzball in the head too many times...Heh heh heh heh..." Cecil acknowledged this and then took a sip of his water.

"Why are you guys freaking out?" asked Squall, "The only person he'll snap at is the Warrior of Light."

"Calm down, you guys..." muttered Cloud. "I don't wanna get killed, okay?" said Tidus. Cecil heard this, "What'd you say?" Tidus spills some water on himself, then said, "I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" asked Cecil. "I'm sorry for saying that your brother is a jerk! Don't kill me! I've died before and I don't wanna die again!!!" cried Tidus, bawling. Karin slumped her head on the table where her plate was before.

"Hold on...I thought he called his dad a jerk?" asked Lorena. "He did.." said Karin. The Onion Knight finishes his food and gets up to put the plate away, but trips over a Chocobo chick and almost fell, but Cecil catches him and grabs the plate for him. The youth shakes with fear, then breaks down with tears.

"Waahh haahhaaa! Don't hurt me, please! I didn't do anything wrong against you!!" bawled the Onion Knight. Cecil was even more confused.

After a few hours from eating breakfast, Cecil ponders of why that some of the others were afraid of him. Then a thought about his brother pops into his head, then his sadness returns yet again. 'Why are you doing this, Golbez? What is the main reason your doing this?' he thought. It was soon cut off as Boko approached the scene. Boko stopped for a second, then turned around to leave. "Boko...Come here," said Cecil. Boko froze, then walked in reverse to Cecil, afraid if he didn't comply, something bad will happen. Boko chirped in fear.

"Why are you acting like this? You know I wouldn't hurt you," said Cecil, petting the Chocobo's head.

Boko tensed, but then relaxed. After a few minutes, the Warrior of Light walks into his room, til then he heard a voice speak to him in his head. It was the Goddess of Harmony.

'Warrior of Light...' the voice said. "Cosmos? What is it?" said the Warrior of Light.

'There is a message...I want you to tell the others....Listen to these words carefully,' said Cosmos telepathicly. Karin returns to her room to settle down, then noticed something amiss: Her CDs were out and so was her boombox and a pair of headphones.

'What the?' thought Karin. She then turns the corner to the other side of her bed, and spots the Onion Knight wearing the headphones and listening to the music on her CDs. The CD he was listening to at this point was of the soundtrack 'Dissidia Final Fantasy'. The youth bobbed his head to the beat of the playing song, listening to it carefully. Karin approaches the youth and taps his left shoulder, causing him to turn to her and panic.

"Gah! Karin! I'm sorry...I got bored all of a sudden so I....Oh, forget it, I'm going," said the Onion Knight. Koko waddles to the scene and chirps with anger, as if saying 'What are you doing with Karin's CDs?'

"If you wanted to listen to my CDs, you could've just asked," said Karin.

The Onion Knight then thought for a minute, then asked, "Can I?"

"Its always important to ask...Sure you can, but don't scratch any of them or I'll get angry and me and Koko will beat you up, we're girlfriends now, right Koko?" said Karin. Koko chirped in agreement and gives her affection to Karin in Chocobo style. Bartz and Boko remained in the main room near the entrance playing a card game. til they hear Tidus scream out Yuna's name. 'What the?' thought Bartz. He rushes to Tidus's room, and Yuna followed behind. Tidus sits up in the bed, huffing and sweating in fear as if awoken from a nightmare. He quickly examines his torso, then sighed, 'Phew..It was a dream...' thought the blitzer of Zanarkand.

"Tidus!" cried both Bartz and Yuna, arriving in the room together. Tidus immediately gets up and runs to Yuna, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Yuna! I'm glad your alright!" Tidus cried. Yuna was puzzled, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"I just had a bad dream that Seymour took you away from me. I was trying to stop him, but Shuyin used my dad's sword and stabs me through the middle with it...And my old man was watching the whole thing, crying....It was horrible, Yuna, it was horrible!!" Tidus said, crying his eyes out. Yuna tries to calm Tidus down, but the nightmare took its toll on him.

"It was just a dream...Its not real at all..--" "I'm gonna go back...Am I..Am I going to die again?" asked Tidus, cutting off Yuna's sentence.

"No! Your not going back to the Farplane...Just don't think about. Everything will be alright, I promise," said Yuna, assuring Tidus that he wasn't going back to the afterlife of the Farplane.

"Farplane? What's that?" asked Bartz, "You've saying this for awhile, but what is it?"

"In Spira when I used to been a summoner, the Farplane is where all the souls of the departed go after a summoner does a 'Sending'..." Yuna explained.

"So...Its like the afterlife for the dead?" asked Bartz. "Yes, just like that.." answered Yuna, "As you already figured out, Tidus has died before..Once."

"Whoa...Back from the dead...How?" Bartz asked.

"The Fayth...Revived me, because Yuna spended alot of time searching for me and fulfilled an important task for it. The Fayth of Yevon is like a religious group, offering safety from the entity, Sin. The price for this is to leave the machina behind, machines and technology, because they believed Sin was attracted to it. Civilization was at a stand still, but through those times, they needed safety and a sanctuary from the entity," said Tidus.

"How do you know about Sin?" asked Bartz in curiosity. "Because it was 'Sin' that made Zanarkand ruins. It destroyed the city while I was in a middle of a blitzball match. I was sucked up by that thing and I ended up in Spira in someway.." answered Tidus.

Tidus continued, "Rikku and others with her found me. She asked where I came from, and my answer was Zanarkand. She looked at me funny and asked if Sin's toxin was messing with me. Sin's toxin can cause amnesia, and making you say things that might sound true to you, but it might not. I was honest about my answer and she then believed me, but advised me to tell of the toxin story or they'll think I'm crazy." Bartz listened carefully, then said, "Now I get it...I think I know enough to get the picture..--" Before Bartz was about to leave, Tidus grabs his right arm and said, "No...I want you to hear my story...All of it...My story written so far to this point." Bartz has heard this line before, it was mostly from Auron.

"Auron says that, too...I guess you got it from him," said Bartz.

"Then...Sin came back and attacked us after retrieving machina in a type of water ruins and I was lost in the sea. When I arose to the surface near the shores of the Besaid Islands, I met Wakka and the Besaid Aurochs while they were training. I showed them my skill and they were amazed. Wakka asked whose team I played for and I answered back that I played from Zanarkand. He thought I was nuts, so I said that Sin's toxin was messing with me. Then a few moments later, I met her," Tidus said, looking towards Yuna, who was still right next to him.

"You met...Yuna then? Wow..." said Bartz in awe. "As a summoner..Yes. I was also introduced to her other guardians: Kimahri Ronso, Lulu, I already knew Wakka. Soon later, I become one of her guardians. As we journeyed, I found out somethings about the Yevon's religion, a religion that made me sick. I didn't want Yuna to go through this, even a arranged marriage to...Guado," said Tidus.

"You mean Seymour? That's his last name? It sounds funny..What is he?" said Bartz.

"Unfortunately..Guado is Seymour's last name. He is Yevon's Maester, a popular figure in Spira that I first saw in Luca. Yuna just wanted to make Spira happy, but with so many lies behind Yevon, she was miserable underneath," said Tidus.

"You fell in love..With her...You wanted to protect her from the fallacies Yevon created...So..What happened next?" asked Bartz.

"I was just a creation of dreams...Dreams that will soon end. I knew I would fade away to the Farplane as soon as Sin was defeated, so I made Yuna happy without the ways of Yevon and spended as much time as possible with her. We finally reached to our destination, but we found out a couple things at the ruins of Zanarkand: My dad was part of Sin, and the Final Summoning truly cannot defeat Sin, it can, but Sin would always come back a thousand years later," said Tidus.

"Your dad...Was part of Sin? How?" asked Bartz.

"According to Tidus's father, Jecht...He was sacrificed as the Final Aeon to defeat Sin. While he was training at sea, he came into contact with the entity, dooming him for the rest of his life. My father had two guardians with him: Jecht was one of them and Auron is the second. After using an Aeon, divine creatures of yore, against Sin, the inner entity, Yu Yevon will absorb and posses that Aeon. After we permanently rid Spira of Sin...As he predicted, Tidus faded to the Farplane and I spended all the time needed to bring him back," said Yuna.

"Whoa...Now I know the connections between you, Tidus, Jecht, and now Seymour...But there's another guy I don't know about," said Bartz.

"Shuyin....I'm getting there," said Tidus, "According to Yuna, the reason she started looking for me was of a sphere-recording of someone who looked like me. She even fell into the Farplane and met him, but it wasn't me, it was Shuyin. He looks almost like me, but his outfit is different and looks mad. He confused Yuna of someone else, but when he found out the truth, he wasn't happy."

"What did...Shuyin do?" asked Bartz. "He tried to hurt her in rage, but I intercepted and guided her out of the Farplane before Shuyin caused her harm," answered Tidus.

"Shuyin and Seymour are with Jecht in this war, aiming their anger at Tidus with their own reason," said Yuna.

"Oh, boy...That's not good..." As soon as Bartz finished, Cloud walks in and said, "The Warrior of Light has received a message from Cosmos..He wants to tell everyone this." Everyone nodded. As Yuna left and Bartz was close behind, Tidus spoke again, "I'm afraid...Of my nightmare..What if it happens and I go back to the afterlife..Will I come back again?"

"It was just a dream. I have nightmares, too, but they never happen. Its just your nerves playing with your mind..Don't worry," said Bartz.

"I wish I can believe that.." said Tidus. They head towards the main room near the entrance and gathered near the Warrior of Light. Karin and Lorena didn't want to join, but they had to.

"Cosmos has informed me through this message that there are six items that act as ingredients to the antidote against Geo-Stigma. She has scattered them into six different locations of this city and we must find them before the enemy does. If they do, they'll guard it from us and we have to fight for it," said the Warrior of Light.

"Did she give the location of the first of the six?" asked Karin. "She has. It is hidden in a bar that has concerts and...Well, music..--" "Oh! I know that place! I've went by there before one time..Its called...Hold on guys, I need to remember...Uh..Its called 'The Black Lilac'," said Karin, remembering an important detail.

"Black Lilac? Sounds dark," said the Onion Knight.

"Its the only one in this city, so we got off on an easy start. Which group is going first?" asked Karin.

"I have decided that Tidus, Firion, Squall, Onion Knight, Cecil, and Bartz will join you and Lorena...Including Boko.." said the Warrior of Light. Koko fluttered her feathers with stress, but Boko cooes to Koko and both Chocobos rub their beaks together in affection. "Alright..Lets go," said Firion. Everyone gets into the SUV and buckles in, but Cecil was confused.

"I was confused, too..Its like this.." Bartz said, showing Cecil how to work the seatbelt. Boko sat in the back, along with the Onion Knight, Firion, Lorena, and Squall.

"Gesh, is there enough room back there?" asked Tidus. "Its toasty..Other wise its alright..Hi, Boko," said Squall. Boko chirped and laid his head on Squall's left shoulder. The car drove down the road to their destination of one of the ingredients for the cure. On the way, Tidus told the others what he told Bartz and his nightmare from his nap earlier.

"I'm afraid...He could be there...and the other two with my old man...I don't know," said Tidus.

"Dreams aren't real, Tidus. I understand your nightmare is bothering you, but its best to get over it and come back to reality. If Jecht comes near you or tries to hurt you...I'll take that former blitzer down, that's a promise, okay?" said Karin. Tidus smiled, then said, "Thank you..."

"Karin...Keep your eye on the road..We don't want an accident," said Cecil, actting as a concerned parent.

"Hey...I've been driving since I was eighteen...Chill out," said Karin, "Keep this up and you'll be walking..." Everyone started giggling and laughing. "Dad..Calm down..I was kidding. I was just messing with you, simmer down," said Karin. Cecil chuckled to himself, then silenced. Tidus leaned forward to the radio in the car, "Its quiet in here...Is there any music? He pressed the 'On' button and almost immediately the radio turns on, playing on a station that read out '107.5'. It starts playing a rap-based song and everyone was puzzled, including Boko.

"What the? What kind of song is this?" asked Tidus. "What..You never heard of 'The Black Eyed Peas'?" asked Lorena.

"Lorena..He's from Zanarkand..I bet they don't have this kind of music," said Karin. "Whoa...Nice music up there..." said Squall. Boko listened more, then began bobbing his feathered head to the music's beats.

"Uh, oh...Karin, Boko's starting to love this song, look through the rearview mirror," said Lorena. Karin looks through the rearview mirror and spots Boko bobbing his head to the beats.

"Oh, Boko..You like this song?" Karin asked. Boko chirped and cooed, meaning 'Yes'.

The song ends and Lorena comes up with an idea, "Hey, why don't you put that CD in? Maybe they want to listen to the three versions of 'The Messenger'."

"Okay..Hang on, here--" "Let me get that...Just keep driving," said Cecil, looking for the CD. Karin groaned to herself, but had to adjust. "Is this it?" asked Cecil.

"Yup, that's it right there...Put it in," answered Karin. Cecil carefully takes the CD out and tries to figure out how to put it in the CD player built into the car. He then sees an opening wide enough for a disc to go in, so he tried that and the CD went in.

"There we go...Huh? Its not working.." Cecil said in empathy. "That's because you putted it in wrong, try flipping it over. Press the 'Eject' button and flip the CD over," said Karin

Cecil did as Karin instructed and flipped the CD so the artwork on the front was facing up. He puts it back in and the CD player began to work. "Finally...Its working--" "Yeah! Finally!" cried both Bartz and Tidus.

"Oh be quiet!" growled Cecil. Karin then pressed a button with a number on it and the CD went to that track in an instant, playing the first version of 'The Messenger', titled 'Cosmos'.

"Ooooohhh....This sounds good.." said Bartz. Boko chirped in agreement. As they drove to their destination, everyone listened to the song in awe and silence.

"This sounds good...I like this song," said Tidus. The Onion Knight agreed, then Boko chirped to the song, as if singing along to the lyrics. The others joined in, including the driver. Tidus wasn't a good singer, but he tried his heart out, including Firion and Cecil. Squall wasn't heard but everyone knew he was somehow participating. After the song ends, everyone quiets down and made bets about who was a better singer.

"I'm sorry, I know for sure Tidus ain't gonna make the first cut in American Idol..Or 'Zanarkand' Idol," said the Onion Knight, giggling to himself at his own joke.

"Oh, be quiet...I tried, okay?" groaned Tidus, "I don't think they have 'Chocobo' Idol..." Boko groaned in a chirp.

"Your mean! There might be, and Boko will be famous one day...Right Boko?" asked Bartz. Boko chirped in happiness and gives a light peck on the back of his human companion's head. As if by a whim, Cecil started singing one of the parts of the song that was already played and everyone listened carefully. Everyone then began to chant 'Go, go, go...'. After finishing, Firion then said, "We have a winner...Right here in the front seat..." Cecil blushed.

"Dang...He sings better than me..." said Squall.

"You wasn't even trying...." said Bartz. "Don't make me come up there.." growled Squall.

"Don't make me get Boko...Oh, wait..He's right next to you..Get him, buddy!" said Bartz. Boko turns to Squall and hugs him in a tight squeeze, as if 'glomping' him.

"Gah! Okay, you win!...Can't...Breathe..." gasped Squall. "I think he needs air, you can quit squeezing him, now..." said Tidus. Boko lets go. The Chocobo leans forward in between of the last two seats in the back and turns to Tidus and lightly pecks his left shoulder.

"Hello...How's life?" said Tidus, acknowledging Boko's presence. Boko chirps and begins a conversation of his own to Tidus. Despite not knowing what Boko was saying, Tidus listened. Bartz has been around Chocobos for most his life, so he acted as a translator for Tidus. After translating, Tidus understood.

"Life's tough, huh? I bet you have alot to take care of on your plate: Koko and the chicks, Bartz, and doing what Chocobos do," said Tidus. Boko chirped in agreement, then chirped a sentence.

"Boko said, 'If I get a descent job around somewhere...I'll support my family'...That's what he said," said Bartz.

"Awww....What kind of job?" asked Tidus. "Chocobos work now? Oh, gezz..." groaned Firion.

"You think that's bad, Bartz taught Boko how to be more human, like using a door mat, eat at a table, and pull out and in a chair," said Cecil.

"Your kidding?" asked Squall. "Nope, I saw it with my own two eyes..." answered Cecil. Boko chirped his reply.

"Boko said, 'Something I'm good at...Somewhere...'," answered Bartz. Tidus thought for a minute, then said, "How about a day care? I bet your good with children because you got some of your own, will that do?"

Boko chirped in a nod. "Boko answered, 'Oh! I never thought about that! Thank you, Tidus.', " said Bartz.

"Your welcome," said Tidus. "I'm never good with children.." said Squall.

"That's because your a lunk head," said the Onion Knight. "And what's that supposed to mean?" growled Squall.

"Hey! Calm down, Leonhart," said Karin, "Do you want to walk the rest of the way? It'll take longer by foot." Everyone 'Oh'ed', even Boko.

"No..I wanna get there quickly..." answered Squall. "Then try to be nicer..Gesh, what has the SeeD been teaching you?" asked Karin.

"Military training..."' answered Squall. "Then answer me this: What made you want to master a difficult weapon like the Gunblade? Is it through strength, or pure stubborness?" asked Karin. Squall didn't answer. Karin had a feeling that Squall himself didn't know as well.

"I think its both, to be honest..." answered Lorena. Karin nodded in agreement. As they passed a road sign that read out in white full capped letters, 'Garana Ave' and 'Tacona St.' Tidus made a weird comment, "Hey, that sign said something about a taco..."

"A what? Oh, it said 'Tacona St.'...It didn't say anything about a 'taco'," answered Karin.

"Actually...The word, 'Taco' was in it.." said the Onion Knight. "Oh..Good point.." said Karin.

"They named a street after a food? That's weird...Taco...Taco..." said Tidus. "I think somebody needs a taco," said Firion.

"No, I don't want a street, thank you," Tidus replied. The group continued to joke as they traveled down the road, til the Onion Knight caught sight of a building sign that read out: 'The Black Lilac'.

"Hey! I think I see it! Over there!" he shouted out to the group. Karin looks over to the building and said, "That's it, that's our destination right there....Let's go!" Pulling in into the parking lot and found a spot, they realized the building was vacant for some reason.

"That's strange....It should be 'booming' with music and people should be here...What is going on?" Karin wondered.

"Maybe...They're here and the people panicked, or worse..." said Tidus. Karin didn't like the 'Or worse' part and wanted to get in there, but Cecil held her back.

"No...It could be a trap...Let's get in there quietly, that way we can surprise the enemy and avoid a lengthy battle," said Cecil, acting strategic. Everyone proceeded with caution and entered the club. It was well decorated and clean, leaving a good impression for the partiers and customers. It also was a bar, music hall, hotel, and a club to get a bite to eat, some drinks, and have a really good time.

"Whoa....Nice," said Bartz. The Onion Knight carried a type of case with him, which happened to be filled with Karin's CDs. He goes to one of the DJ's CD players and pops one of them in it. Karin was suprised, "You brought my CDs?"

"They might come in handy...Somehow..." said the Onion Knight. The first track plays, and Tidus recognized the song, "Hey...Its that song we heard on the radio...Sweet." Boko nods, and begins to bob his head to the beat.

"Oh, no...Go Boko.." said Bartz, trying not to yell. Cecil looks around, then said, "Maybe I could be wrong...I'll keep an eye out." Karin begins to dance to the beat, but soon ceases, remembering the reason coming here.

"Sorry..." Karin apologizes. After a few minutes of listening to the song tracks, the group splits up to look for where the first ingredient is hidden. Tidus looks around the dance floor for anything suspicious, like hidden floors and panels. No luck yet by far.

"Dang it...Nothing here...I'm glad the enemy isn't here....!!!" Tidus then turns to the left at one of the tables, seeing who was sitting there drinking their drink. Who he saw caused him to panic, for Tidus just caught sight of his father, Jecht. 'Oh, no! My dad's here!!? That means...The enemy really is here!!' thought Tidus. Jecht began to turn to his right and caught sight of Tidus, then smirked to himself, 'So...The kid's here..I guess the other guys are going to like this...'

'Oh, no...He spotted me...I gotta get help!' Tidus said in his mind. "Guys!! I need help!!" Tidus called out.

"Go ahead and call your friends, brat! We've been waiting for you!!" Jecht called out, grabbing his sword. Bartz heard Tidus and made a dash with Boko to the main room, but was intercepted by Exdeath, blocking their path.

"Hold it right there, spineless fools..Your going nowhere, but the void.." said Exdeath. 'No...The enemy was waiting for us?!' thought Bartz. Firion rushes to Tidus, but soon was attacked by a fire spell from the left, knocking him down to the floor. He looks up, seeing who casted the spell: The Emperor.

"Surrender to my rule, rebel, or I will do to you what I did to Fynn," threatened the Emperor. This agitated Firion.

The Onion Knight skids across the floor, holding onto the case to protect the CDs with his life. Squall stood firm in place, then turned to the youth, "You okay?"

"I think so...The CDs are fine..." groaned the Onion Knight. The Cloud of Darkness, accompanied by Ultimecia, made her way to the warriors. "This is such a waste of time..." said Ultimecia.

"They will soon return to nothingness...Of the void," said Cloud of Darkness. Lorena and Karin had their hands full against Golbez, fully recovered from the last bout.

"Golbez...Don't do this..." said Karin.

"I have no choice, young youths...If I don't do as I'm told...Chaos will hurt everyone cherished in my heart, my brother...Even you, my niece..." answered Golbez. Karin couldn't believe this, Golbez doesn't want to hurt her, but has no choice due to Chaos's threats.

"We'll save you! We'll save you, Golbez!" Lorena called out, hoping maybe Cecil heard her. "No...I am far into darkness to be saved...There's nothing for you to do to spare my soul. I was condemned into darkness, forever I will stay in darkness..-"

"That is not true at all, brother!" Cecil called out, as a paladin.

"Karin! Lorena! Go help the others!" Cecil commanded. The two girls ran away from the scene, leaving the two Lunarian brothers alone in battle.

"Cecil...You shouldn't be here...Like the others," said Golbez. Lorena searches for Bartz, and soon sees that Exdeath was gaining the upperhand. Bartz shielded Boko from harm, taking the hits that Boko was supposed to get.

"Spineless worm! I knew you had a weakness all along for that bird," said Exdeath, "Do not panic, you and your friend will soon return to where it all began and ended, together...In the void." Boko chirped in fear, telling Bartz to get out of there and forget about him.

"No, Boko!..I'm not leaving you!" said Bartz, groaning in pain. Exdeath then made one step, til a blast of fire nailed him in the back. His cape caught fire and the 'Void' warrior panicked. Lorena casted 'Firaga' and hitted Exdeath with it.

"You go back to the void! No one needs you, Exdeath!" Lorena cursed. She rushes to Bartz and heals his wounds with her newly required 'Curaga'. Boko was happy Bartz was going to be alright.

"Come on! Lets go!" Lorena said, pulling Bartz to his feet. The three flee the scene, leaving Exdeath to burn. The Onion Knight, Squall, Cecil, Lorena and the two traveling buddies, and Karin rush to Tidus and Firion; to take out the enemies that appeared.

"Looks like everyone gathered...How precious," said Mateus. Exdeath's cape was singed, but the warrior still standed. Each warrior picked their foe. Lorena went with the Onion Knight to look for the hidden ingredient. The battles intensified, each side used as much valor as they could to survive. Tidus tried his best to defend himself against Jecht, but the former blitzer had the advantage.

"What's wrong, kid? Not strong enough to take me? How pitiful!" Jecht teased. He nails Tidus with his gauntlet fist, knocking Tidus into a table. "Are you gonna cry? You cry-baby..." said Jecht.

"Shut up! Stop calling me that!" yelled Tidus. "Quit actting like one, then!" Jecht countered. Just as a few seconds go by, a wooden chair whacks across the back of Jecht's head with such force, he felt it plain and simple.

"Gah! What the??!" Jecht panicked, then turned to who did it: Karin.

"Stay away from him....Or I'll make you hurt," Karin threatened. Jecht chuckled, "You make me hurt? Bah...I like to see you try." Karin wasn't fooling around, so she slaps Jecht across his face, leaving a hand print there.

"Ooooh!! Serves you right!" Tidus called out. This makes the former blitzer angry and Jecht makes a charge with his sword, but Karin rushes to him without one, but relies the next move to her feet.

As Jecht lets out a battle cry, Karin does the same and leap kicks the tan skinned blitzer square in the face with both feet, leaving her shoe prints there as evidence. Jecht flings backwards and falls to the ground on his back, groaning in pain.

"Ooooooooohhhh!!!" Everyone called out that saw that, even Tidus. "Dang! Where'd she learn to do that?" asked Bartz. Boko was clapping his wings.

"Who's a 'Cry-baby', now?" said Tidus. Karin gets off her back and stands up. Golbez turns to Cecil, then said, "She inherited that fighting determination from you..Didn't she, brother?"

"Yep, she did.." said Cecil.

As Karin stood for a few minutes to catch her breath, everyone began to fight again, but a surprise attack was commencing from an attacker. Karin tried to fight off the attack, but when she saw what was around the front of her neck, she knew who it was. In front of her neck was a two bladed kantana, and the only person that wielded it Karin knew was none other than Kadaj.

"Let go!" Karin cried out. "I got you! I got you!" Kadaj said, not letting go. Yazoo and Loz arrive to the battlefield, fighting off the warriors of Cosmos. Loz helpped up Jecht, then asked, "You alright, tough guy?"

"She nailed me really good...Not bad..." answered Jecht, rubbing his face.

Yazoo fired at Lorena and the Onion Knight with his revolver, but thanks to using the environment as a shield, they dodged each fire. Karin tried to knock Kadaj off, but he was too strong for her, that is until three other people showed up to join the battle, but not the bad guys' side. It was Cloud, Auron, and Vincent. Vincent fires at Yazoo, drawing him away from the area with his tri barreled revolver. Auron attacks Loz, drawing him away from Jecht. "Don't think about it...Puppet," Auron threatened. Cloud attacks Kadaj, freeing his grip on Karin.

"Thanks Cloud!" said Karin. Cloud nodded and turned his attention to Kadaj. "Yeah! Big brother came!" said Kadaj. Bartz immediately began to panic.

"No! You shouldn't be here, Cloud!" cried Bartz, "If your here and those three are here, then..." The messege was interrupted by a instant temperature change everyone noticed.

"Is it me, or did it get colder in here?" asked Tidus. Karin has felt this before and this made her panicky. 'No...He's here...' thought Cloud. Everyone turns to the right and walking towards the scene, armed with an over two foot kantana, was Sephiroth, but why did he appear?

"We are so dead..." said Bartz. Sephiroth wasn't interested in the battle, but when he turned to Karin, there was an interest that was hidden away.

Karin panicked, trying to get away from the One Winged Angel's gaze, but everytime she tried, Karin glimpses at Sephiroth and notices a smirk on his face. Unknowingly, a telepathic message was sent to Karin's mind, from Sephiroth himself.

"You know why I'm here...Remember?" the voice said in her head, "You would do anything to live...Remember?" Karin panicked even more.

"Karin run! He's coming after you! Run!" cried Cloud. With no second thoughts, Karin fled up the stairs that held the rooms upstairs at the 'Black Lilac'.

Fleeing from the One Winged Angel, Karin tried to make sure he wasn't following and tried to find a room to hide in. Knowing about Sephiroth, hiding in a room would be a major red flag, and he would find her no matter what. This was a risk Karin was going to take, this was a matter of life and death. Since there were six rooms on the first floor, Karin picked the second room, in case if the One Winged Angel suspected she would be in the further ahead rooms. As soon as she gets in the room, Karin then said to herself, "He's still on that 'Anything' gig...Oh, god..Why can't he just go away..?" Karin then began to hear footsteps outside the door, instantly quieting down enough to figure out who's walking by.

She peers through the keyhole, looking outside the room to see who the person is walking by and as if by instinct, the identity of the figure walking by was revealed to Karin. It was Sephiroth and he was wondering where she went. Silent, she continued to watch til Sephiroth walked out of view. Know that the threat has went by, but was not that dumb to fall for this, Sephiroth could always come back and look around from the beginning. Taking another big risk, she peers into through the keyhole again, making sure the One Winged Angel wasn't around. There was no sign of him. Karin then takes another peek through the keyhole, but when she did, she saw someones' eye looking into it at the same time as her, an eye with a slitted pupil.

"There you are...My dear," said Sephiroth. Karin panicks and flees away from the door, heading towards the bathroom to get out through the window, but she wasn't quick enough. As if teleporting in the room without opening the door, the One Winged Angel grabs her arms and tosses her near the bed, dazed and powerless to fight back.

"There you are....I'm going to finish what I started earlier...Remember what you said? You said you would do anything to live," said Sephiroth. The door opens, revealing Yazoo and Kadaj with ropes in their hands, giggling to themselves as they entered the room.

"No...I was lying...I didn't mean any of it...Please don't.." Karin groaned, trying to find a escape, but her body was too weak to fight him off.

"Are you sure?" cooed Sephiroth. Kadaj and Yazoo grab Karin and put her in the bed on her back. She tried to fight them off, but she was weakened held her down as Kadaj wrapped her wrists and ankles to the bed posts with the rope, making her unable to escape.

"No...Please don't..Let me go.." Karin continued to panic. "What is the matter? He won't bite...Heh heh ehe...Besides, Lord Sephiroth wants to give you something, young one," said Kadaj, playing with Karin's mind.

"Give me what? Despair?" said Karin, tired of the mind games. Kadaj began the giggle, and so did Yazoo.

"You don't know? How cruel you are...Heh heh heh heh..." said Kadaj. It all clicked. The room, being tied to the bed, Sephiroth, it all made sense now to Karin and she had to find a way out, fast. Karin began to struggle out of the ropes, but her strength was all gone, she used it all up when she tried to get away.

"Do not struggle no more...Remember what you said, you'll do anything to live...This is what you must do if you want to survive..Do not be afraid...This could be something you want," said Sephiroth, amazingly keeping his cool the whole time.

Karin wanted to scream, but thought what would happen if she did. Will she get stabbed, or worse, killed. She closed her eyes tightly, pretending to be home playing on her PSP, but the reality was that she wasn't. Sephiroth drew closer, and then leaned to her, as if calming her down.

"Don't be afraid...It won't be so bad...I can read your thoughts..I know what your thinking," cooed the One Winged Angel. He drew closer, as close as a child with a stuffed toy or parent. Karin whimpered in fear, scared of what will happen if she disobeyed. Outside the door, Firion, Bartz, and Boko prepared for the surprise attack. Firion overheard what was going on and wanted to get her out of there. Arming his bow as close to the door as possible, he arms an arrow onto the string. Karin felt the sharp end of Kadaj's sword near her, cutting at the sleeve of her shirt.

"No...Please don't..I'd rather die than this....Don't!!" Karin leaped up with half her body, trying to bite Kadaj. Yazoo pushed her down, aiming the revolver to her head.

"No...Don't...Just kill me...I don't want this, just kill me and get it done and over with," Karin whimpered.

"We don't want that...What would Lord Sephiroth say about that?" said Yazoo.

"He doesn't even care...He lost his soul when he found out he was a product of the JENOVA project..." said Karin, bringing out a point about Sephiroth.

"You are a smart one....Don't fight it...Just give in, and become a part of me as with everything else that dies into the planet...Don't be afraid..Become one of us...Become...Us..," said Sephiroth, tempting Karin. He then leans in, trying to do something, but Karin fights back, moving her head away from his.

"Firion..." said Bartz, trying not to blow their cover. "Few more seconds...Just a couple more..." whispered Firion. Kadaj held Karin's head in place, making sure that she didn't move her head anymore. "No..No...Please, don't.." Karin whimpered. Sephiroth then leaned down to her, as if going to kiss her, but within the middle of it, an arrow pierces through the door and hits Sephiroth's side, knocking him off of the bed.

"Lord Sephiroth!" cried Yazoo and Kadaj. Firion kicks the door open, with his sword out and same with Bartz, they charged in and attacked the group, with Boko chirping and pecking at Yazoo mostly than Kadaj.

"Get Lord Sephiroth and lets get out of here!!" cried Kadaj. The two grabbed their lord and carried him out of the room through a window, but first removing the arrow that was fired from Firion's bow.

"They're gone! That's good...Karin.." said Bartz, then went to her. Boko pecks at the ropes as fast as he could go, and breaks the ropes binding Karin from wrist to ankle. After cutting the ropes, Karin leaps forward, but instead of tackling one of the three, she lands into Firion's arms.

"Its alright..We got rid of them...Its over..." said Firion. Karin sighed in relief, then cried in his arms.

"They're gone...They won't come back again...You better stay here for now, want Boko to stay here with you?" asked Bartz. Karin continued to cry, then Firion said, "I'll stay here with her, Boko, too. We'll be alright." Bartz nodded, then said to Boko, "Keep her safe, buddy. Okay?" Boko nodded as well. Karin held onto Firion, as if she didn't want to let him go.

"What happened? Did something earlier happened that made Sephiroth do that?" asked Firion. Karin then told him about the incident at the park parking lot in her SUV. Firion listened, and fully understood.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry," said Firion, holding her in his arms. Boko cuddled up to Karin and tried to calm her by giving her light pecks and nuzzles.

"Oh, Boko...." Karin said, petting him. "I will make sure that One Winged Angel doesn't come near you. If he does...I'll slaughter him, if possible...All the others will find out, but they'll try to help, even Cloud. Let's have Cloud take care of Sephiroth, its destiny's calling for the two of them to battle eachother..It'll get better, don't worry," Firion vowed. Karin wished she could believe that, but for now she smushed her face into Firion, crying til she fell asleep. Down on the main room, Lorena searched the stage til she came across a square-shaped panel near the back of the stage.

"Huh? What's this?" Lorena wondered.

She moves to the panel and lifts it open, revealing a container inside. Auron walked towards the scene, and said, "That's it...That's what we're looking for." Lorena smirked to herself, knowing all too well what it is. After getting the container, both Auron and Lorena turned around to leave the stage, but was caught off guard when Ultimecia and the Cloud of Darkness arrived at the scene.

"No you don't...You are not leaving this stage...Alive," said Ultimecia.

"Prepare to enter the void....You shall return there, very soon.." said the Cloud of Darkness.

Auron was on guard, protecting Lorena at all costs. The Onion Knight needed to distract them, and a weird idea popped into his head. 'I need to distract them...But I don't think I can sing..There's one way to find out,' The youth thought as he quietly ran to the microphone stand and takes it with him. After shortening the stand to his height, the Onion Knight turns the microphone on and speaks into it in front of the speaker he connected it to, seeing if it worked properly.

"Testing...One, one, two...Testing...One, one, two, two..." he said into the mic. It worked alright and he knew he needed to use it.

With each step backwards, Lorena and Auron tried to find a way off the stage, but the two in front of them wouldn't allow that at all costs.

"They're not going to let us go...Now what?" whispered Lorena. The Onion Knight takes the stereos out to the stage and hooks the microphone into one, which was linked with the others by wires and turned the microphone on, beginning to sing something from a song into the mic.

"....The Messenger is standing at the gate....Ready to let go, ready for the crush...," sung the Onion Knight. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the stage, gawking at the youth as he started to sing.

"...Too late for whispers, too late for the blush....The past is Mercy when the future's glow...," the youth continued.

"You have got to be kidding..." said Cecil. "....OMG...." said Golbez.

"Are you serious?" said Jecht. Vincent drops his gun and stares at the scene with both crimson eyes staring at the Onion Knight. The Cloud of Darkness and Ultimecia look at one another and then turned to face the youth at the mic, hoping to get rid of him quickly so the racket would cease and go back to what they were doing.

"What the? Where're they going?" Lorena questioned. "They're being drawn away from us...Lets go while they're distracted," said Auron. The two then made a quick dash off the stage with the container. The Onion Knight was starting to panic as he continued the song, backing to the edge of the stage.

"...Kneeling journey dressed in... A cloak of shadows...." stammered the Onion Knight, "...The hunting's grim for the.... innocent eyes. Communion's prey is a cup of sorrows....But faith is colours for...The humbling cries." Drawing ever closer, The Cloud of Darkness and Ultimecia prepared to take out the singing child before them, not knowing that the two they were originally after already left while their back was turned.

"We are growing distasteful of your music...Child..." said the Cloud of Darkness. "Cease with the noise. There is no time for your elegy," said Ultimecia, as she armed herself with bright demonic purple dagger-like spikes. The youth began to panic, there was nowhere left to go and he was going to be killed, that is until Squall made his move, nailing the both of them in one kick.

"Go on! We could use some battle music! Keep singing!" said Squall, tackling down the Cloud of Darkness while grabbing the Time witch's hair to pull her back away from going to the stage. The youth stood there for a minute, then began to sing again, while everyone was fighting in the background.

"...The Spirit is over town, waiting for me to hit the floor, Blooming white sky for the voice of one calling tonight...." The Onion Knight continued. Back in the room, Karin hears the Onion Knight's voice, singing to a song she knew.

"Firion...Is the Onion Knight...Singing?" asked Karin. "It sounds like it....I wonder what those guys are doing down there?" answered Firion, "Go ahead and rest...You've been through enough for one day." Karin nods, then falls back to slumber. Boko cuddles closer to Karin, protecting her from harm with his feathers.

"...Tonight fate is the red crown, the red crown around your door....Time is scattering the seeds of the mourning daylight..." The Onion Knight finished the second version of 'The Messenger' called 'Chaos'. As he finished, so did the battle on both sides. Jecht and the group on sides with Chaos fled the area, knowing all too well that Cosmos won this round.

"This ain't over yet, kid!! We'll get all of you! Every single one of you on Cosmos's side and slaughter you like cattle, including her!" roared Jecht, pointing his rage at Tidus. Somehow, Tidus knew who he was talking about.

"You come near her, I'll kill you myself! Straight through the heart!!" screamed Tidus. "..I like to see you try...Brat.." muttered Jecht, then followed the others.

"Cecil! You have to get to Karin..Something happened and both me, Firion, and Boko had to save her from Yazoo, Kadaj, and Sephiroth...They tied her to the bed with ropes," Bartz informed the paladin\dark knight.

Karin slumbered in Firion's arms, then Cecil rushes to the room where the door was knocked down, heading to Karin like a worry-sick parent.

"Its alright....She's okay now. I nailed Sephiroth in the side with an arrow," said Firion. "Did he?" asked Cecil. Firion already knew why he asked that, then answered, "No...He didn't get that far...Look." Firion shows Cecil that as far as the trio got to was to cut half way up Karin's right sleeve and that was it. Cecil was relieved.

"I made darn sure that didn't happen," Firion said. Karin opened her eyes, seeing Cecil as a dark knight. She was happy he made it and hugged him as she did with Firion. "It's alright now...He won't come near you," said Cecil. Cloud came in and noticed something wasn't right, but thanks to Firion, he understood why.

"Cloud....You need to take out Sephiroth...Now, before he does it again, or I'll kill him myself..." said Firion. "I know...But its the final battle I'm able to take him on. Spare him til then and you won't worry about Sephiroth anymore," answered Cloud, understanding Firion's threat. Bartz told Lorena, and as if on a time limit counter; she rushes to Karin and holds her in her arms.

"Not again....Did you nail that winged freak?" Lorena asked Firion. "Yeah...In the side with an arrow," answered Firion. Lorena was happy, and craddled her friend like a child. As everyone cleaned a bit of the 'Black Lilac', Tidus looks at a cut across the back of his hand and reaches for a napkin, but when he looks at the cut again, he witnesses something odd.

'What the?' thought the blitzer. The cut began to mend on its own, healing up with little effort. The wound disappeared, as if by magic. 'What the? Do I know Curaga, or....?' thought Tidus. The Onion Knight notices Tidus looking at something, then asked, "You okay? What's going on?" Tidus shrugs off the strange event, then sets the napkin back at the counter.

"I'm alright...I thought I saw something.." said Tidus. He grabs the glove from his left hand and puts it back on with a cut on the top. As he approached Auron, the former guardian notices something odd from the beginning.

"Tidus...You cutted the back of your hand...How is it healed so quickly?" Auron asks. "Don't know...Maybe I knew Curaga all of a sudden and I didn't know...To be honest, I don't know," answered Tidus. The guardian was puzzled, but thought about Tidus's possible explanation. Cecil and Firion, along with Boko, carried Karin to the first main floor to the car as everyone left the building, fixed up so no one would know what transpired, including the top first floor.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: A Stigmatic Love and Emotions to an Esperkin

**'When the corrupted finds the truth of the single winged warrior, a poisonous love emerges; as if willed by Jenova itself. Unable to escape, the poison becomes intoxicating to the corrupted soul...'**

**'Unable to escape the thoughts and feelings of affection, the youth turns to his heart; seeking guidance to lead him to happiness...'**

The Car drove back to the hide out, with only Lorena driving. Karin was in the back with Boko, Cecil, Tidus, Onion Knight, and Firion; while Auron, Cloud, Vincent, and Bartz were in the front in seats. Due to Karin's fragile state, Lorena drove the group back instead.

"It's going to be alright...We'll head back and pretend this didn't happen.." said Tidus. Karin stared towards the ceiling, then said, "No...How can I?...Why?...Why me?" Karin said, confused and unstable.

"Oh, no...She's unstable again..." said Cecil. "Women get that way on traumatic events like this, no offense, though, Lorena," said Bartz.

"That's alright, the quickest we get back, the better...Its going to be alright, Karin. Sephiroth won't mess with you anymore..We'll make sure of that," said Lorena. Karin continued to stare up at the car roof ceiling, unstable and confused ever more.

"He'll keep coming...There's no stopping the One Winged Angel..Til he gets what he wants. He'll kill everyone, even those we cherish to get me...That's all he wants, is me," Karin said, speaking with no thought. "Don't listen to that former hero...All he speaks is lies filled with temptations. I should know. I had to deal with him in every battle," said Cloud. Back at the hideout, everyone kept their vigil on Karin due to her fragile state, making sure that she doesn't do anything to harm anyone or herself.

"I hope she's okay...Did Sephiroth, Kadaj, and Yazoo really did that to her?" asked Reno. "They did..If it weren't for Firion, it would've of happened," answered Cloud.

"You should've killed Sephiroth when you had the chance, Cloud...That way we don't have to worry about him, and his remnants," said Rude, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Not that easy...As long as I live, he'll just keep coming back. I guess...I'm going to have to deal with it," answered Cloud. "That bites.." said Reno. Karin walks out of her room, causing the three to stop their conversation short. "You okay, now?" asked Reno. Karin remained silent, then walked away.

"I was asking if she was alright...Gesh.." said Reno, feeling rejected. "Its not you...She's confused, let's make sure she doesn't hurt herself, come on," said Cloud. The three followed Karin quietly, following her to a room that was empty. As soon as she makes it to the center of the room, she slumps down to the floor and lets out a sorrowful scream. She held herself with both arms and fell to the ground, saying, "He poisoned me! That One Winged Angel poisoned me!" Cloud and the two rush in and holds her, trying to comfort her as best as they could. Reno was the one holding her, while Rude and Cloud stood by.

"He didn't poison you...Your just delusional..It's going to be okay," said Reno. Karin then turns to Cloud, then said, "You...As long as your alive...Sephiroth will come back...Why haven't you killed him yet? Why haven't you!"

"Its not that easy...I'm sorry.." said Cloud. Without thinking, Karin amazingly takes Reno's shock staff and said, "The only way for Sephiroth to go away..Is to get rid of you...Its the only way," She aims it at Cloud, prepared to hit him with it.

"Karin, no! Give that back...We don't want anyone hurt here," said Reno. "Don't you idiots get it! In order to get rid of Sephiroth...We need to get rid of Cloud..He's the source," said Karin. Cecil and Bartz, including Terra and Koko rush in, just in time before something bad was going to happen.

"Karin! Put that down right now!" said Cecil, "Please...For your safety...Don't do this, we'll figure out a way to take on Sephiroth.." Karin wasn't buying it, but then continued to move towards Cloud, armed with the shock staff.

"No...We need to kill him to take out Sephiroth...Its the only way. It always was and will always be...Its the only way!" Karin charges, but in the middle of it, Koko lightly tackles Karin to knock the staff out of her hand and tries to reason with her. Terra rushes to the scene and holds Karin in her arms.

"Somebody kill him! Somebody kill him! We need to get rid of Sephiroth! Kill him!" Karin screamed. Cloud remained unaffected by the threats. He fully understands that as long as he is alive, Sephiroth will keep coming. Firion rushes in as Terra tried to comfort Karin, holding her in his arms.

"What happened?" Firion asked. Rude was the quickest to respond, "She snapped, then took Reno's shock staff and was going to hurt Cloud, but Koko got in there and knocked it out of her hand...She believes that if Cloud is alive, Sephiroth will keep coming. Its like find the source of the problem and get rid of it."

"Shhhh...Your alright..Shhhh..." Terra said, trying to calm Karin down. "We need to save ourselves!-" "Karin...Snap out of it, come on...Your fine, your safe...Shhhh..Calm down.." then an idea popped into Firion's head, "Karin..Look, its Koko..Look..." Karin then looks up and immediately calmed down as Koko lowered her head to Karin's level, nuzzling her in a Chocobo way.

"Koko...Koko...Oh, god...Did I kill someone?" said Karin, feeling reality coming back. "No...You almost hurted someone, but you didn't...Don't worry, your okay now," said Rude, trying to be positive. Karin then looked to Cloud, then said, "Why didn't you attack me? I was going to hurt you...Why didn't you strike?"

"There's no way I'm hurting my friends like that...I'd rather hurt myself than my friends," answered Cloud. Koko then lowered herself to Karin, cuddling up to her for comfort.

"Koko...I'm sorry..." Karin cried. Koko stayed where she was at and continued to comfort Karin, alongside Firion and Terra. Back in Tidus's room, where he shares it with Yuna, Tidus holds both hands to his head, as if in pain from a migraine.

"Gah! My head...Why are there voices in my head?...My head..." the blitzer groaned. Yuna rushes in, along with Kimahri and Wakka, "Tidus!" the three called out.

"Get these voices out of my head! Get them out!" Tidus called out, ramming his head into the wall. "Tidus, no! Your hurting yourself..Let us help!" said Yuna, trying to soothe Tidus. "How long has this been going on, ya?" asked Wakka. "Three hours since we got back. All of a sudden, I start hearing voices in my head and they won't shut up...Get them out!" Tidus screamed, ramming his fists into his head.

"No, no, no..Don't hurt yourself..." said Kimarhi, "Wakka..Get Onion Knight," Wakka nods and rushes to find the Onion Knight. Auron arrives to the commotion, overhearing the situation.

"Sit him down...What's going on?" Auron asked. "I'm hearing voices in my head, but I'm not crazy...Oh, good...They stopped," sighed Tidus, glad the torment is over with, "Don't worry...I was just stressed...It does that, don't worry-" Then out of nowhere, the voices come back, driving Tidus insane.

"GAHH! Not again! Make it stop! Make it Stop!" Tidus then rams his head into the wall harder than before, instantly knocking him out and accidentally falls and cuts his left foream on Auron's sword. "Tidus!" cried Yuna. The Onion Knight and Kimhari rush in, "What happened? Oh, gezz...Lets get that stitched up, but first stop the bleeding," asked the Onion Knight. In the med bay area, the Onion Knight grabs the medic tools and prepares to stitch up the wound. Everyone looks at the cut with a grimace look.

"That looks nasty..What happened?" asked Bartz. "He said he was hearing voices in his head. It drove him insane so he knocked himself out and he fell onto my sword and this happened," answered Auron. Karin was present right next to Koko, watching the scene.

"Hang in there, Tidus..We'll take care of this and...What the?" The Onion Knight watches in amazement of the cut beginning to heal automaticly on its own. Everyone watched in shock. After a few minutes, the cut was automatically gone, leaving no trace behind.

"No way...How'd he do that?" asked Squall. Zidane was shocked, "I can do that, too..But in Trance only."

"Me, too...But Tidus?" wondered Terra. "Earlier while we were still at the Black Lilac...Tidus told me that he could've used Curaga without knowing it, but what I saw right now..I don't think it is," said Auron. Tidus began to stir, then opened his eyes to see the others staring at him and his arm.

"What happened...Hold on...My arm was cut...How...Did you guys see it heal on its own? I did too on the back of my left hand," asked Tidus. "Yeah we did..How did you do that? We know its not Curaga, but a biological regeneration," The youth explained.

"What are you saying?" asked Tidus. "One, humans can't heal that fast, but extremely slow at its own rate. Two, you just healed on your own without using Curaga...And you might not be human," answered the youth. This upseted Tidus.

"Your saying...I'm a freak?" asked Tidus, beginning to cry. "That's not what he's saying...We'll figure this out," said Yuna. This didn't calm Tidus down, this got him more upset, "That's it then...I'm a freak and you don't love me anymore...How can someone love a monster like me!" Tidus rushes away to his room, locking himself inside.

"Tidus! Don't do this!...Tidus...Talk to me, please..." said Yuna. "While he was still konked out...I drew a blood sample from him a few seconds after that event. I'll get to the bottom of this...Don't worry. I, too want to know how as well," said the Onion Knight, vowing to get to the bottom of this.

"Good...It'll make Tidus feel better.." said Auron. Yuna manages to get the door unlocked, then went inside to confront Tidus. "The Onion Knight is going to get to the bottom of this...We'll figure this out.." said Yuna, trying to calm a hysterical Tidus.

"I'm a freak! Admit it...I'm not normal...I have voices in my head...I can heal myself...Admit it, Yuna! I'm a freak!" screamed Tidus. Yuna then raised her voice, "Why won't you let us help you!"

"Maybe because I'm not supposed to be helped...Maybe I was supposed to suffer than to be helped!" said Tidus, trying not to become hostile at Yuna. Then the thought of his nightmare came into focus. "Maybe...I'm supposed to be killed...Oh, Yuna...I'm sorry..."

"Tidus...Your dillusional...Let us help you...Let me help you...Please don't do this.." Yuna said, trying to calm Tidus. It started to work, but it wasn't effective.

"How can anyone...Love a monster...You deserve better than this, and I'm ruining it for you...I'm sorry...I destroyed your life, Yuna," said Tidus, crying til his blue eyes were red. Yuna went to Tidus's level and held him in her arms. At first he winced, but soon calmed down when he somehow sensed she was not going to leave.

"We'll figure this out...The Onion Knight will figure this out..We'll figure this out, together..." said Yuna, looking face to face with Tidus. Karin looked at the scene as the door remained open, then closed it; giving the two privacy. Karin returns to Koko, who was eatting a couple Gysahl greens. Karin then noticed something different about Koko.

"Koko...I don't wanna make you self conscience, but..Have you gained alittle weight?" Karin asked. Koko instantly knew what Karin was talking about, then chirped a sentence to Karin. "Bartz, do you know what Koko said? I can't speak 'Chocobo'," asked Karin.

"Koko said, 'You don't know?'...That's what she said," answered Bartz. Karin was drawing straws and then said, "I don't know...What is it your not telling me, Koko? I thought we were girlfriends." Koko then pointed Karin at Boko, then her, then at her chicks, lastly at her again, but at her abdomen. Karin was still puzzeled. Koko then pointed at one of her chicks, then at her abdomen. Karin thought for a minute, then it all clicked.

"Oh, my god...Are you..Having more chicks?" asked Karin. Koko fluttered her feathers, giving happy chirps. "Oh, Koko! It must've been a special night without us knowing with you and Boko...Oh, honey...Hey, Lorena!" Karin called for Lorena.

"What?" asked Lorena. "Koko's going to be a mom again," said Karin. Lorena looks at Koko, then went wide eyed.

"Your kidding? Oh, my god! Oh, Koko...Your going to be a mommy again! When will they arrive?" Lorena asked Bartz. "Not long now...In a few days. Chocobos are like birds, Ostriches to be close. They lay eggs like birds. In a few days, they'll arrive. If you notice that Koko isn't in the bed with you, you'll know why," said Bartz. Lorena pets Koko and her abdomen, filled with exactly seven eggs.

"Oh, Koko...You take it easy for awhile til they arrive, okay sweetie," said Lorena. Koko chirped, then went to Boko. Back in the room, Yuna continued to hold Tidus in her arms. Yuna then breaks the silence.

"Tidus...Do you remember what we did at the Macalania Lake? Do you?" asked Yuna. Tidus turned to Yuna, then answered, "Yes...Why are you asking?" Yuna stared into Tidus's blue eyes, as if in love.

"Yuna...I don't know..-" Tidus was then shushed by Yuna, then before Tidus could process the situation, Yuna leans onto Tidus; knocking both of them to the floor. Outside the door, Wakka and Reno watch the scene through the keyhole.

"What do you think is going to happen?" asked Wakka. "Probably they're gonna kiss. Lets see and find out," answered Reno.

"Yuna...Why are you doing this?...Yuna..." Tidus asked nervously. "To help you..In someway. It doesn't matter who, or what you are, Tidus...I will always love you, no matter what the truth tells us...I spent a long time finding you, and I won't lose you again. It killed me when I first did, but not again," said Yuna. A smile showed on Tidus's face and infront of the two outside the door, they drew closer. They both closed their eyes as the distance between them shortened and instantly their lips connected, just like that night at the Macalania Lake on their pilgrimage against Sin. It lasted for only a minute, but Tidus wanted to give her another kiss, himself. They embrace in a hug, then kissed again, lasting two minutes; a minute longer than the first.

"Aww...I knew it," said Wakka, "Those two are so attached, it'd break my heart if something bad would happen to one of them, ya."

"Hmmm...Lets get out of here before they find out we're out here...Lets go.." said Reno, fleeing the door along side Wakka. Back in the lab, the Onion Knight examines Tidus's blood for clues. As he does, the youth became distracted from memories from the previous war against Cosmos and Chaos that he and Terra traveled together to obtain their own crystals. She soon succumbs to the Cloud of Darkness's curse, and it was he who had to save her. Following his heart, not intellect, he fought the entity from the darkness and freed her from the curse. The Onion Knight vowed to protect her, no matter what. The youth shook himself back to reality and refocused on the analysis of the blood sample.

'These memories...That moment what I said to Terra after she woke up...After I obtained my crystal..I swore that I would protect her..And I will..These feelings..Why..' his thought was cut off from what Karin said.

'I think I know another good example..You and...Terra,' Karin said back then. The Onion Knight couldn't focus anymore. He knew what he had to do.

'Terra...I need to talk to her,' the youth thought, 'It seems Karin is right, but I didn't want to admit it...' He makes it to Terra's room, but finds that she isn't in her room. "Hmmm...She's not in here..Where..-" The Onion Knight's voice thought was caught off when he heard the door open behind him. He quickly turns around, spotting Terra, using the Esper version of 'Trance'. With white snow skin, purple hands and feet, and yellow, lunar claws, she levitates to the youth. He has seen this form before and knows all too well it was still Terra, no matter the difference.

"I know why you came here...I'm sorry...I had to scout somewhere and had to fight off Kefka...Until the next location of the second ingrediant is revealed, we have to wait here," Terra said. Then she drew back to the main topic, the topic she already briefly started, "I know why you came here...You are a bold knight..What is it you want to tell me?" The youth struggled with words. The Esperkin giggled.

"Its strange...When men want to tell the girls they love dearly something, they always struggle to say the right thing. They must not want to mess it up, like leaving an impression...I already knew what you was going to say...Is this true? You are young, but...It takes time," said Terra. Her empathic abilites have scanned the youth's mind, but time is something he doesn't have. The memories, what Karin had said, he knew he had to tell her his feelings; him alone and nobody else.

"Remember when I said I would always protect you? I meant it...I would sacrifice anything to make sure your safe, even my life. I would do anything for you. Because...Because..." The Onion Knight said. He then blurted out a three worded sentence without him even noticing. Realizing he did, he was embarrassed and blushed a shade of lobster red. Terra stood there, then asked, "Even...If I'm like this...Because I'm an Esper...Would you?"

"It doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, and what you are. Your still you, and I'm still me...I doesn't even matter," answered the Onion Knight. He hoped he said the right thing from his heart, but soon it would lead to something else. Levitating closer to the youth in red, yellow, and orange, the Esperkin lowered herself to his level and stared into his emerald green eyes for a few minutes.

"I sense your pain...I am sorry," said Terra, "It must of been terrible, being an orphan...I...I want to take the pain all away, for good...Onion Knight, poor young Onion Knight...I want to erase your pain...To all the troubles you've been through.."

"Terra.." said the Onion Knight. They stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds. Without them knowing, a little yellow feathered witness was hiding from the scene, watching the whole thing unfold. They drew closer to one another, slowly to adjust to the situation. They never took their sights off of one another, not leting go of each other's gaze. The youth became nervous as the distance was becoming shorter, but it took one hand from Terra to reassure him that this was a right thing to do, a hand holding his gaze to hers. Then in mere minutes, they embrace, connected with love. This lasted three minutes and they broke for air. As if by accident, the youth fell onto the floor, taking the poor Esperkin with him.

"Gah! I'm so sorry, Terra! I didn't mean to-" His sentence was cut off by another embrace from the Esperkin, kissed again for another three minutes. By instinct, Terra holds onto the Onion Knight in the embrace, as if not willing to let him go. After the event ended, the Chocobo chick made its presence known by giving a chirp. This angered the youth, but his response was, "Your lucky your so cute...Your going to be an older sibling in a few days, so you better get back to your mother." He opens the door, allowing the chick to leave the room.

"You already know? That Koko is..." asked Terra. "I examined her when I noticed she was acting odd a few weeks ago...That's how," replied the Onion Knight. The two stared back into eachother's eyes yet again and it remained that way for a couple hours.

The soldiers of Chaos patroled within the confines of the abandoned church, wondering where would the next location be to intercept the warriors of Cosmos. Ultimecia rubbed the back of her head to ease a dulling pain, a pain Squall had caused her for pulling her hair back at the Black Lilac.

"Curse that Leonhart...I'll slaughter him and all his friends...Grrrr..." fumed the Time Witch. Seymour carried an ice pack to Jecht, who also was suffering the same thing as his son, Tidus.

"Are you going to be alright?" asked Seymour. "I hope so...I need to get these voices out of my head...I don't want them to distract me in battle..." groaned the ex-athlete, placing the pack on his forehead. Shuyin arrives to the scene, then mentions something to him, "When you cutted yourself accidentally in your palm from your sword...How was you able to heal that fast?"

"I don't know...How was I able to? Nah, who cares! As long as I always keep coming back, I will show no mercy!" said Jecht, brushing it off.

"Because your the greatest, like always?" asked Seymour. "Darn right!" answered Jecht, taking a sip of water. Vivian was with Kuja, talking about how he met her mother. Vivian had a good question of her own.

"Since I'm a hybrid of Genome and Human...Am I able to do 'Trance', or can I even learn it?" she asked Kuja.

" I don't know to be honest..As far as I know is that pure Genomes can use 'Trance'...I don't know," he replied in confusion. After the long conversation, she heads to her room, but makes a side trip to Sephiroth's. She doesn't even know who he is and where he even came from. As she quietly entered his room, she read through a book that appeared as his diary. It was his diary, and all the ex-hero's secrets were in the open for her. After she read through out the whole journal, she was shocked to learn of Sephiroth's origins: A bio-engineered product of a project titled: 'JENOVA'.

'My, god...How could they do this to him?..The torture...The madness...Poor Sephiroth...' thought Vivian, actually showing emotions for a start. She knew if Sephiroth found out she read through his journal, he would either kill her, or infect her with Geo-Stigma. She then putted his journal back were she found it and left the room, pretending she never went in his room in the first place and learning anything from Sephiroth's journal about his origins and past. She continued towards her room, til without noticing she walked past Sephiroth, who already read her mind in an instant and knew what she had learned from his journal inside his room. In a simple vocal confrontation, Sephiroth spoke.

"I know what you did...Vivian," said Sephiroth, "Did you learn anything useful? About me?" A chill of ice flowed up and down her spine, knowing all too well her fear was becoming reality. 'Oh, no! He found out by reading my mind! I gotta get out of here!' thought Vivian.

"I want an answer...Are you that desperate for despair?" asked Sephiroth. Vivian panicked, she didn't want despair. "I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" Vivian screamed as she ran to her room in fear. She closes the door to her room as soon as she gets inside, then sighed in relief.

"Oh, gezz...I'm so not doing that again..Hold on...Why is there a temperature change?.." wondered Vivian. It then dawned to her that every time Sephiroth shows up, the environment's temperature fluxes, making it feel cold. This caused her to panic. 'Oh, god no...I bet he can teleport...Without opening the door...Oh, please god, no...' thought Vivian. She then turns to the right and right in front of her bed was none other than the One Winged Angel, Sephiroth.

"Gah! I'm sorry I read through there! I was just curious about you!" Vivian panicked, "Please, don't kill me...It won't happen again, I swear my life on it-" Before she finished her sentence, she noticed something odd about Sephiroth. He stood there, quiet. She drew closer and what she saw next mystified her more. Sephiroth was actually crying, tears were streaming down his aqua green eyes. He wasn't smiling, nor angry, just sadness was shown on his eyes alone.

'Is he...Crying?' thought Vivian. She drew even more closer and as if by instinct, Sephiroth covered his face with his only wing, sheilding his sadness to her, in fact, he covered his whole upperbody with his wing.

"Sephiroth...Why are you crying? Your the One Winged Angel...You shouldn't be crying," said Vivian. No sound was made, except Sephiroth huffing in sorrow. Vivian was about to leave the room, so she can leave Sephiroth alone, but his followers were right behind her. Kadaj was the first to speak.

"Lord Sephiroth is sad...Because you found out his past. I have never seen him cry before, til now. You hurted his feelings...It may appear Lord Sephiroth doesn't have feelings, but he realy does...You should make him feel better," said Kadaj. Vivian didn't know she did hurt his feelings, so she approached Sephiroth, still sheilding his sadness with his wing.

"Sephiroth...Please, talk to me...Are you really made from the JENOVA project?" asked Vivian. After a few seconds, Sephiroth reveals his face to Vivian, still stricken with sadness, then nods.

"Was you angry when you found out?" Vivian asked. "I killed alot of people, burned down a village, and almost destroyed the planet...That's all I'm destined for is the planet's demise.." answered Sephiroth. In Sephiroth's case, the answer was a 'Yes'.

"Have you...Ever knew what love felt like?" asked Vivian. Sephiroth shook his head, meaning 'No'. "Never...Not in your life?" Vivian questioned carefully, hoping not to upset Sephiroth again.

"No..." said Sephiroth, "...Til now..." Vivian was puzzled. 'Hold on..What he meant by 'Til now'?' thought Vivian. Her answer soon came when Sephiroth uncovered his upperbody from his wing, then pulled Vivian towards him and covering her and him under his wing.

"Awwww...Its love..." said Loz, beginning to cry. "You cry too much, whiner," said Yazoo. Kadaj remained silent, smirking to himself mentally in happiness. Vivian was covered under Sephiroth's only wing, surrounded by black feathers.

"Sephiroth...What did you meant when you said, 'Til now'?" Vivian asked. Her answer came when she received a small peck on her left cheek, then few minutes later another peck, but this time on the right now knew what he truly meant by 'Til now'. The former hero gazed into her eyes with his own slitted pupiled eyes.

"Unlike that...Karin...I won't run...I will do anything for you, Sephiroth..Even if I have to kill to please you, I will..For you..." Vivian vowed. Sephiroth then smirked, he has heard that before, but this time, it was more different than before.

"Anything?" cooed the One Winged Angel. The two stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds, then began to draw Vivian closer to him. She was confused why, but as soon as she was close enough and Sephiroth began to lean towards her, she understood. He leaned to her face and hidden by the audience, both of their lips connect, transferring Vivian's heat to Sephiroth, who was cold from the harshness of the world. As a few minutes went by, the two broke for air and gazed upon one another again.

"Sephiroth...We will make the planet suffer from your anger...If it means me becoming like you...I want to be like you...Somehow," said Vivian.

"Soon...You will be, very soon..Til then..." Sephiroth breaks the conversation for one more embrace, capturing Vivian again in a second kiss. She held onto him, refusing to let go of Sephiroth. Unknown to the remnants, the sadistic mage, Kuja witnessed the whole event, suspended upside down from his tail using 'Trance'.

'She is growing up so fast...I knew she would connect to him, somehow...' thought Kuja.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: New Additions and the Metal Work Battle\ An 'Unconnected' Situation

**'A wonderful gift has been bestowed on the Chocobos in this war, new additions that will arrive in a few moments...The Saddistic mage repeats the Stigmatic Angel's attempts, only to fail from the upcoming breeze and a limble theif warrior...'**

**'Saddened and not willing to cope, the knight of light ceases to function, wandering alone in order to not fight anymore. Will a new connection reach this troubled soul, before its too late?...'**

A few days pass, not knowing when the location of the next ingrediant will pop up. In the early morning, Karin begins to stir. When she woke up, she notices Bartz sitting on her bed, as if waiting for Karin to wake up.

"Ugh...Bartz? What are you doing here...What happened? Lorena?" Karin mumbled as she woke up. She then turns to see if the Chocobos behind her are okay, but to her surprise, they weren't behind her. "Where'd they go?" Karin wondered.

"Karin...It happened last night..The stork came to Koko last night," said Lorena. Bartz nodded in agreement, "Yep...Boko and the other chicks went to her this morning...It happened." Karin shot up, then asked, "The new chicks arrived last night?"

"They did...Wanna go see Koko?" asked Lorena. Karin, Lorena, and Bartz travel to a shack near the hideout. It seemed it was earlier fixed up but Karin herself didn't know why. The door opens up, revealing Boko waddling out of it. The Chocobo then looks to his right and was glad there were people going to see Koko after a blessful event. Boko heads to the group and directs them to the hut, allowing Karin to investigate further. She enters first, spotting Koko laying down.

"Koko! Are you alright?" Karin asked. Koko gave a chirp, and showed the group that the new additions in her and Boko's family have officially arrived, seven, perfect eggs. Karin saw this and actually was glad the new chicks arrived safely into the world.

"Oh, Koko...You take it easy for a while, okay...You've been through alot to have these new chicks," said Lorena, petting Koko's head. The female Chocobo chirps in happiness, then Tidus and Firion arrive to the scene, along with others.

"Awww...They came!" Tidus called out, "The new chicks arrived!" Cloud and Auron were the last to arrive, alongside Barret, Vincent, and Lulu. The Onion Knight rushes to the scene, heading towards Koko to check to see if she's okay.

"Did the delivery go okay, Koko?" asked the Onion Knight, as if he was involved with the new additions arriving. Koko chirped happyly and gave the youth a gentle peck, stating that it went alright. He turns to the others, "She came to me, saying it was time and I quickly made a nest for her in this shack..We don't use this place, but thought it would give Koko some privacy as the new chicks arrived."

"Oh...Now I get it.." said Karin. "Make sure to keep those eggs warm, okay Koko?" said Tidus. Koko nodded and stayed put. Cloud arrives to the scene. He looks towards the nest, then addresses the others.

"Guys...The Warrior of Light just informed me to tell you guys that the second and third ingrediants are revealed. They're both in a type of Metal shop, or works," said Cloud. Everyone nodded in agreement. Driving to the location of the second and third ingrediant, Lorena drove Karin, Tidus, Waka, Reno, Firion, Terra, Zidane, and lastly Bartz to the scene.

"I told Boko to stay with Koko. He's a dad again and I thought it would be best for him to stay with her," said Bartz, explaining Boko's absence. Everyone understood. Reno turned to Karin, worried still of her status of emotion. Karin noticed Reno was looking at her, but turned away ashamed, knowing what happened a few days ago. She almost hurted Cloud.

"Don't worry...We'll take care of that former hero. Let us deal with him, not you. He's way too powerfull for you and if you tried to take him on...It won't be pretty," said Reno. Karin nodded, still feeling remorse. Zidane turns to Karin from the back seat, then said, "Cheer up...Everything's going to be better. I bet Koko doesn't want to see you sad when we come back from the battlefield."

"Think of Koko...What would she do in a situation like this? She'd take it in stride and move on with a smile," said Bartz. Karin tried to smile, but couldn't bring herself to, not yet. She still was thinking of Koko, and does her best to cope. They arrive at their destination, quietly searching the metal shop for hidden objects. As a few minutes go by, Karin was about to give up. Terra notices something hostile coming at Karin and knocks her to the ground, dodging a powerful spell aiming directly at Karin. The explosion rocked the area, but as soon as both Karin and Terra looked up, they saw who casted it: the demented psychotic clown, Kefka.

"Rats! I almost had you...Man, I hate guys like you the most.." groaned Kefka. "Karin! Run! I'll deal with Kefka," said Terra, activating her 'Trance' ability. Karin flees the scene, leaving Terra to deal with Kefka.

"Are you ready to join me to destroy the world? Aren't you...Missy?" Kefka asked. Terra knew what he meant and her answer was, "I would never! It'd be better if you destroyed yourself!" Terra fumed at him. As Karin searched for Lorena, she notices that everyone was fighting against the enemy that quickly arrived. As she approaches the clearing, Karin watches Lorena get cutted by a sword from someone, falling to the ground clutching her right arm.

"Get away from her!...What?" said Karin as she sees the identity of the attacker. It was Vivian, armed with a machete-sized sword. Her outfit was different from before. It had many similairities to Kuja's, but there were key differences that made it more feminime. There was a front loin-cloth with the cape-like back around her waist, a strap across her chest, and heeled boots that mimicked Kuja's, but no buckle in the center.

"I came to slaughter everyone of Cosmos...Even you," said Vivian, pointing the machete-based blade at Karin, "Everything will soon return to the planet, and become part of him. Choking it, corroding it...You will all return to the planet soon, just like Jenova predicted..." Karin has heard this type of speech before. It was from Sephiroth.

"What did he do to you? Do you even think Sephiroth cares about you? He has no soul, no morals...He lost his sanity because he found out what he really is. A product of an expirement. He believes he's an ancient, destinied to destroy the planet. Sephiroth doesn't have a heart!" Karin screamed at Vivian. Vivian was as cold and calm as Sephiroth, not listening to Karin's threats and assumptions. Lorena spots something moving towards the scene. Karin spots it too, and realizes who it was: It was Kuja, not in 'Trance', levitating towards the scene.

"Lorena...Your not the only one with a Genome as a father..." said Vivian, welcoming Kuja's presence. Karin then looks towrads Kuja, then to Vivian; then back again. "Oh, my god...No way..." Karin gasped. Zidane overhears this and was actually shocked himself.

"No way...How can this be?" gasped Zidane. "Dude...Get some clothes on, already! I don't think anyone wants to see a guy wearing something like that, gesh!" said Lorena. Kuja took this as a threat and activated 'Trance'.

"You have no right to judge beauty!" growled Kuja. "You call that beauty, Kuja! If that's the case, then your as ugly as a freak!" roared Zidane. This infuriated Kuja further, and then pounced on Zidane, biting, scratching, and punching him with any means of harm.

"Run! Run!" Zidane called out, activating his own 'Trance'. "Lorena! Get out of here! I'll deal with Vivian!" said Karin.

"Karin.." said Lorena. "Go! Before something bad happens! Keep searching!" Karin called out. Lorena flees the scene, leaving Karin to deal with her rival. "Karin...I will release you from this world...You'll come back again as part of Sephiroth and the planet as with everything else," threatened Vivian, getting into a fighting stance.

"I'm going to enjoy this..." growled Karin. Lorena flees the scene, leaving Zidane and Karin to deal with Vivian and her 'Father', Kuja. 'I can't believe this...Vivian's father is a Genome, too? Why Kuja?...I gotta find the ingrediants quickly...' thought Lorena, using Curaga on her wounded arm. She looks around her new enviroment and spots a abnormal scene. A cabnet area for the tools in the metal works was marked with a specific design, a design that depicted a roman designed 'C'. Lorena peers into the cabnet and right inside it, she finds the two ingrediants.

'Cosmos...You guided me here...Thank you...' thought Lorena. She then hears a racket from the distance. As if by instinct, Lorena moved away from the area to make sure the enemy doesn't know where the keys are, in case they didn't know. Lorena moves towards the scene slowly, but spots nothing. She then hears a feral growl in the distance, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was.

'Oh, god...No...Please no..' thought Lorena. A few minutes go by and she didn't hear anymore growling. She settled down for a minute, turning to get the ingrediants and get out of there, but Kuja, still in 'Trance', pounces, knocking her down to the ground on her back. Lorena tries to fight off the Genome mage, but he proved to be more powerful.

"Get off! Please! Don't kill me!" screamed Lorena. "How dare you insult me! You don't even know what beauty is! I will slit your throat for this!" roared Kuja.

"Stop! Don't kill me! I'll do whatever you want, please don't kill me!" Lorena cried, tears flowing down her face. Kuja stopped his attacks and began to smirk, "Anything?" Lorena had a bad feeling about this, then thought, 'Lorena, you idiot! This is the same mistake Karin made against Sephiroth! Move it before its too late!' Lorena tried to get away, fleeing away from the area, but within a few yards, Kuja, now not using 'Trance', tackles Lorena to the ground. Lorena began to sob, hoping someone was nearby to save her.

"No...Please...I was lying.." whined Lorena. "Don't lie to me, young lady...You said you would do anything for me not to kill you..." After Kuja said this, he pulls out a dagger hidden under his jacket, "Anything...My dear." Lorena tried to talk her way out of it, but she did say she'll do anything to live. Kuja overpowered Lorena and aimmed his dagger's tip at the collar of her shirt, preparing to cut the shirt through the middle. Lorena fights back, pushing Kuja away from on top of her, but he then directs the dagger to her neck as a threat.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you...If you want to stay alive, do as I say, or you will see lots of blood..." growled Kuja. Lorena whimpered as Kuja went back to what he was doing. She whimpered in fear as she stood still, then quieted herself and closed her eyes, pretending this wasn't happening.

"That is more better...Don't worry, my dear...It won't hurt so bad," cooed the saddistic mage. Lorena then said to herself, 'This ain't happening, this ain't happening..Oh, god I feel like Karin right now...' As soon as her thought was over with, she hears Bartz's voice, yelling out, "Hey! Get away from her, you freakshow!"

Kuja was furious, "What did you call me!" Lorena hears a scuffle going on and opens her eyes and spots Bartz slashing his sword at Kuja as he flees away from him. The mage flees away from the scene. Bartz then turns to her and rushes to her with worry.

"Lorena! Its okay now! Kuja's gone! Please don't tell me it was like the same thing with Karin..." groaned Bartz. Lorena just sobbed. The adventurer then leans to her and holds her in his arms.

"Its okay...Its okay...Shhhhh...Your okay...Your okay...I'll go get Zidane, I'm not going nowhere...Zidane!" Bartz called out, after calming Lorena down. The Genome thief arrives, worried sick about Lorena.

"What happened?" Zidane questioned. "Same thing like Karin...Kuja was going to do the same thing like Sephiroth.." answered Bartz. Zidane was upset, but he putted it aside to comfort his daughter.

"Its going to be alright...Shhhh...Your okay, now," said Zidane. "Dad...The ingrediants...They're in that cabnet...With a 'C'.." said Lorena. Both Zidane and Bartz looks into the cabnet and takes both the ingrediants out and Bartz putted them in a bag he carried. As soon as the quiet moment went by, they hear a piercing cry from a distance. Zidane knew who gave out that scream.

"That was Kuja...Who nailed him..?" wondered Zidane. Kuja held his wounded thigh with his right hand, trying to get away from his attacker, who happens to be a very ticked off Karin.

"I won't let you get away with this...I won't let Lorena suffer like I did against Sephiroth.." growled Karin. "Your insane! You can't get rid of me!" cried Kuja.

"Really? Your mortal...You can die..And that's what I'm going to do, for Lorena..." Karin said, raising her sword to strike and finish off Kuja, but Vivian kicks into Karin, knocking her down to the ground. "Run!" Vivian called to Kuja. He flees and soon the enemies follow behind him. Victory two for Cosmos. Jecht runs along side Shuyin, til he is crippled by more voices inside his head.

"Jecht! Is it getting worse?" asked Shuyin. Jecht couldn't fight it off. "My head...It won't...Stop.." the former blitzer said, then passes out.

"Seymour! Exdeath! I need assistance!" Shuyin called out. Exdeath and Seymour arrive to the scene, lifting the former athlete. Seymour then tells Shuyin something important, "Tidus is suffering the same thing...Is this genetic?"

"Don't know, but lets find out..." answered Shuyin. Vivian fights off Karin and Karin makes her first mark on Vivian: A slash mark cut across her chest. Vivian panicks and backs away from an angry Karin.

"I'm really going to enjoy this...Good riddence!" Karin raises her sword in the air and swings it at Vivian, but the sound of another blade clashes infront of her own. Karin looks and soon sees who was protecting Vivian: Sephiroth. Karin panicks and flees.

"Sephiroth...Sephiroth..." gasped Vivian. He turns to her and tends to her cut across her chest. "Kadaj! Yazoo! Loz! Get over here, now!" Sephiroth commanded. The three reminants rush to the scene, tending to Vivian's wounds. Vivian calmed down, but tried her best to hide her emotions. It was useless, for due to Sephiroth's empathic abilities, he knew what she was feeling.

"I failed...It is unexcusable...Gah!" Vivian said, screaming in pain as Kadaj examined the wound, "I won't fail again...If I do...I'll punish myself to make sure it doesn't happen again..." Sephiroth went to her, then said, "Don't try so hard...Your human..We will win. If we can't beat them now, the final battle will be different. All is needed is to get stronger...Rest, that is all you need right now." Vivian calmed down, trying her best to mask her pain from the wound with no emotion, but it was proving difficult. With the ingrediants in hand, the group for Cosmos drove back to their hideout. Karin turned to Lorena right next to her.

"I nailed Kuja for you...I made him suffer, but that Vivian got in the way and I left my mark on her...Sephiroth showed up, so I fled," said Karin. "...Thank you...I knew you would..." Before the two finished their conversation, the walkie talkie Reno carried went off, with the Onion Knight's voice on the otherside.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Did the mission go alright?" his voice asked. "It did...Some of us go minor injuries but otherwise okay," Reno responded.

"Good...Thank goodness you got the ingrediants alright? Koko is doing good, she's still at her nest and probably in a day, the eggs will hatch. Thank goodness I study about Chocobos. Cid and I have discovered something abnormal about Tidus," said the Onion Knight through the walkie talkie.

"Really? What happened?" Tidus muttered waking up. "Tidus is coming around, he passed out. We also found out Jecht is going through the same thing. Is it genetic?" asked Karin.

"Really? Oh, boy...I think Cid will explain it better..." said the Onion Knight. Cid's voice then was heard, "Okay...Guys, Tidus...When we looked at Tidus's blood, it showed two genetic makeups, something like a chimera, but this isn't adding up. Thanks to Yuna's explanation what 'Sin' is and what an 'Aeon' is..We found that his DNA is composed of half Aeon DNA and half Sin DNA...A hybrid to say in terms. Tidus is definately not human." This upseted Tidus.

"Tidus...Till we learn more...We'll let you know. You guys said Jecht is going through the same thing. Is is possible maybe he's the same thing?" asked Cid.

"We don't know...Want us to get a blood sample from him?" asked Lorena. Tidus then spoke, "We already did...His blood is still fresh on my sword, and somehow spilled in this glass..I got it..."

"We don't have to worry about that...Okay..Cosmos has contacted me and also we noticed the Warrior of Light is not here...He's probably wandering off somewhere and we need to find him, fast. Cosmos said to me that she has been trying to contact him, but wasn't getting an answer from him like always. She's worried for his safety. You guys need to find him fast before the enemy does before you come back. Don't worry, Karin...Koko is fine...Come back safely," said the Onion Knight, ending the communication.

Everyone nodded together and drove through the night streets. "I don't believe this...Why is this happening to me?..Of all people, why me?" Tidus questioned. Terra then turned to Tidus.

"Don't worry, Tidus. Maybe the voices in your head is actually empathy...Your able to read people's thoughts. Maybe that's why the voices are heard in your head..." Terra explained. Tidus tried to calm down, but then Reno spots something ahead across the street.

"Hey...Isn't that him?" asked Reno. Waka looks out the window, then recognizes who it is. It was the Warrior of Light. Karin spots the wandering knight and approaches the scene, trying to get his attention.

"Hey! What are you doing out here!" Karin called out, "Cosmos is trying to contact you...What are you doing out here!" There was no answer, the knight kept walking.

"Hold on...I can hear his thoughts...He's...Let me out," Tidus said, getting out of the car, then walked to the Warrior of Light. He intercepts the knight and what he saw next saddened him. The Warrior of Light was actuallly crying, streams of previous and fresh tears flowed down his face. Extreme sadness overtook Tidus, using his newly aquired empathic powers for something good for a friend.

"Why are you sad? You can tell me..." said Tidus. "I...Have no friends...All that happens is I get yelled at by you guys. I don't belong here! I belong in Cornelia...I've had enough of fighting...I want it to end..." cried the Warrior of Light, with no thought to back it up.

"We all want it to end...But in order to do that we have to keep fighting...I don't wanna fight no more, neither does the others. We have to keep going..Its all we can do," said Tidus

"You fool...As long as the Wrym is still alive, the battle will keep repeating! I want it to end, now!" screamed the Warrior of Light.

"No...Wait..Talk to me...Why are you that eager to end it all? Is that why your looking for Garland? So he can help you end it all for you?" said Tidus.

"Empathy...I don't need to suffer no more! Get in my way, I'll do something I will regret," the unstable Warrior of Light threatened.

"We need you! We need a leader! Don't...Do this!" Tidus said, grabbing the knight's shoulders. As what the Warrior of Light threatened, he takes his sword and thrusts it through Tidus's abdomen, in front of everyone. Tidus stares at the knight, wide eyed and mouth opened. The Warrior of Light regreted doing that, Tidus could tell.

"I...Warned you..." said the Warrior of Light in a lone tone. "No!" Reno called out. Everyone rushes to the scene, half to Tidus with the blade sticking through him, and the others were to the knight.

"You...You killed Tidus! He was our friend!" screamed Bartz. "What was going through your mind?" Firion called out.

"Just kill me and get it over with! I want it to all end!" screamed the Warrior of Light, now becoming suicidal. Tidus groaned, shocking everyone around him. This shocked the knight even more.

"No way...How's that possible? That's a fatal strike..." said Karin. Tidus pulls the blade out of his stomach, instantly healing externally and internally.

"I'm okay...It seems I really can cheat death..." said Tidus. The Warrior of Light was in shock, then ran off. "Stop him! He'll hurt himself!" said Firion. Everyone chased after him, til as soon as the knight approached the alleyway, Cloud, Barret, Rude, and Tifa tackle the knight down, causing him to drop his sheild and the helmet fell off his head, skidding across the ground. Vincent also appeared, then said, "Hold him down...We'll get him back..."

"No! I want it to end! Kill me! Kill me!" the knight screamed out. "What's his problem?" asked Barret. Cloud turned to him and answered, "The stress and emotion boiling inside underneath his emotionless exterior has blown over...He's gone crazy and wants the war to end. He believed that if he found Garland, he would help accomplish this. We need to keep an eye on him.." Everyone dragged the Warrior of Light into the car, taking him back to the hide out. Tidus looks to the Warrior of Light, shaking with instability.

"Don't worry...Maybe we can find a way to take out Shinryu in the process...Your okay now..." said Tidus. The knight turns to him, then said, "You should've killed me..." Along side the car, Cloud and his group rode right next to them on Fenir.

"I think he needs some psych help...Can you help him, Terra?" asked Lorena. "Okay..." answered Terra. They drove all the way back to the hide out, preparing to try to understand the Warrior of Light's descision.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: New Little Hatchlings and the Far Away Love Letter\ Misunderstanding Mishap

**'Gorgeous little hatchlings arrive through their shells after a few days of imprisonment, freshly prepared for the future of life ahead. From a distant realm, a letter saves the knight of light, tortured with sorrows and madness, it spares him from his own insanity...'**

**'A misunderstood fallacy has made a confusing situation, not knowing it wasn't the true face they seek. Truth equals freedom, but will it come in time?...'**

A few days go by at the hideout, the Onion Knight continues to research on Geo-Stigma as five of the ingrediants are coming together as planned in his mind. Karin slept in her bed as the morning light glows through the blinds, shining brightly into her eyes.

"Gah...I hate the sun..." groaned Karin. As she turned to her right, Boko flutters in with excitement, waking Karin up from her sleep. "Gah..What the?...What is it, Boko?" Karin asked. As it trying to drag Karin out of the bed, Boko continued to chirp and wanted her to follow. Following the Chocobo, Karin wonders if its something about Koko. They enter the shack together and Karin then notices that Koko isn't on her eggs like she should be to incubate them with her body heat.

"What's wrong, Koko?" Karin asked. Koko seemed she was glad that Karin arrived. After a few minutes, Boko returns again, with everyone else. They seemed puzzled at first, but what they saw before them made them warm up with a wonderful, fuzzy feeling. One of the eggs begins to move on its own, as if the occupant inside wants to come out.

"Kar...The eggs are hatching..." awed Lorena. Bartz watched in awe. After a few more movements, the first chick inside its egg makes its appearance known by piercing through the shell with its beak, showing the others its orangish colored beak. It gives out a squeak-like chirp, then continues to break out of its shell-like prison. After a few more seconds, the first new chick makes its depute appearance to the world, with floppy reflexes and wet-like feathers.

Everyone awed. The Warrior of Light watched in silence, awing to himself in his mind. The second, third, and fourth eggs broke apart, revealing the chicks inside. They chirped with freedom. The fifth, sixth, and last soon followed, revealing the new chicks hidden inside. They chirped together, as if demanding their 'mommy'. Koko arrives to the new chicks and nuzzled each on of them with affection. The elder chicks arrive as well, cuddling up to the newly arrived chicks and keeping them warm with their body heat.

"Aw...Look at them, they're so cute!" said Yuna. Tidus smiled, then said, "Its the miracles of life...And they're so adorable.."

"Look...They're opening their eyes..." said Terra. The chicks slowly open their new eyes, looking around their new surroundings. The first of the chicks looks to Karin and begins to wobbly move to her, chirping.

"Uh, oh...That one likes you..Its coming to you, Karin," said Bartz. "No, no...Little one..Your momma is over there...She'll think..-" Before Karin finished, the newly hatched chick cuddled up to her shirt, chirping and cooing. Koko didn't attack, nor gave a warning chirp, she watched, like any worried parent for their children.

"Awww..." everyone awed. Karin lightly pets the newly hatched chick, still alittle wet from hatching. Back in the hideout, Karin reflects on her thoughts from the arrival of the new chicks. 'The many wonders of life...I bet motherhood is a wonderful experience,' thought Karin. She then turns to the rose, then thought about her previous dream with Firion. She became alittle nervous, but then her thoughts turned to something else. She turned her attention to the Warrior of Light.

'I think I can save the Warrior of Light...But I don't know how...Maybe Dad knows...' thought Karin. She heads to Cecil's room, but she finds a note on the door, reading: 'With Koko...Head there if you like..~Cecil H.~' Karin nodded and went to Koko. As she entered, Karin saw that Cecil was helping Koko feed the new chicks with well crumbled Gysahl greens, crumbled enough for the new chicks to digest it with ease.

"Dad..I need to talk to you about something.." said Karin. Cecil looks up, then answered, "What is it?"

"Its about the Warrior of Light...I want to help him, but I don't know how," said Karin. After the paladin\dark knight was finished, he turns to his daughter, "I know..We all want to, but he won't let us...It was all shocking to learn Tidus can cheat death like that, but how? He's not human..."

"We'll find out...I'm more worried about the Warrior of Light though. He's our leader, we need him to lead us. I want to help him," said Karin worried. "True...Maybe you can try to talk to him. If he makes a threat, get out of there...Your not like Tidus," said Cecil. Karin nods in agreement, then heads to the Warrior of Light's room. She enters the room in caution, noticing the knight facing the wall.

"Are you feeling any better?" asked Karin, trying to find a way to start the conversation with the knight. He finally speaks, "I'm never better...Fighting and war, disorder and madness, the everlasting cycle continues...I will do anything to end it, even if it means dying..Just to get away from the pain."

"Why do you want the pain to go away? Are you sick of the whole thing repeating?" asked Karin. "As long as Shinryu lives...It will continue..." said the Warrior of Light, turning to Karin with watery eyes filled with tears.

"Do you want to go home? Back to Cornelia?" Karin questioned, connecting to the knight as best as she can. Bartz heads to the door, heading out for alittle bit, til he notices an envelope saying in fancy letters: 'To: Warrior of Light...From: Princess Sarah of Cornelia'. He picks it up, looking at it carefully.

'Hmmm? Is this from someone that the Warrior of Light knows?' wondered the adventure seeker. He thought for a few more seconds; then went back inside, delivering the envelope to the knight. Karin connected with the knight in his room, trying really hard to heal him, not make this wound of sorrow worse than a few days ago that made him suicidal.

"There might be a way to take out Shinryu...There might be a way, but we need to find it..." said Karin. The knight listened, then said, "I ruined everything...If we hadn't have came here...Your mother would still be alive. If only...I could change that and redo the whole thing again..." said the Warrior of Light.

"You can't go back in time...No one can. What happened happened...There's nothing we can do-" "I failed everyone...I failed you, your own mother, Cecil, everyone...I failed them...And this is inexcusable! I'm not supposed to fail..." cried the Warrior of Light, taking every single blame on him, even the blames he wasn't involved in.

"Hey...Calm down...We'll get through this...You said you was going to avenge my mother's death, remember? What I'm trying to point out to you is: If you letted Garland kill you..He'll try to take over Cornelia like before...Even try to harm the princess and the king, and there's no one to stop Garland, because you have died...Do you want Cornelia to fall at the hands of Garland?" said Karin. This struck a chord.

"If that filthy, disgraced knight ever lays a hand on Cornelia...I will find him and slaughter him into pieces...And burn him into the abyss where he rightfully belongs!" the Warrior of Light fumed with rage, slashing his blade at a stand, breaking it in half.

"That's the Warrior of Light we wanted back for a few days...If you fall, Cornelia falls...Stay alive, that way Garland won't fulfill this while your still standing...Show no mercy," said Karin, glad the Warrior of Light has returned to himself. Bartz knocks on his door, then asked, "Can I come in? There's something for you and it looks like its from Cornelia.." This widened the knight's eyes.

"I bet Cosmos knew about what was going to happen...She's a goddess and must've forseen this...Come in," said Karin with a theory of her own.

"Here...Do you know a 'Princess Sarah'?" asked Bartz. "Bartz...She's the princess of Cornelia...Where the Warrior of Light came from," answered Karin.

"A princess? Such royalty.." awed Bartz. The knight grabs the envelope and opens it carefully.

"How did this get here? From all the way from Cornelia?" wondered Bartz. "I think Cosmos knows...-" before Karin finished, the three then heard the goddess's voice speak to them.

'Listen well...I have the answer you seek of the envelope,' said the goddess in telepathy, 'From the realm of Cornelia, their princess wanted to give the Warrior of Light something. She didn't know how, so I left it in front of the door before Bartz came out and saw it...' The voice then turns its attention to the Warrior of Light, 'I feel your pain...Warrior of Light...I know you want no more conflict and war, but in order to do so, you must fight...'

"I don't want to fight no more...All this does is repeat and repeat. Please, Goddess of Harmony...I beg for forgivness..My sanity is lost with the constant battles..." said the Warrior of Light, falling to his armored knees in a type of prayer, or bow.

'You already have forgivness...You haven't looked in the envelope, yet. Your new strength is resting in it,' said the Goddess of Harmony. The knight then turns to the envelope and reaches into it, retrieving a necklace that had a crystal as a centerpiece.

'The crystal necklace...What else is here?' thought the Warrior of Light. He then reaches into the envelope, retrieving a letter. He looks into the envelope once again, but there was nothing more inside, but a necklace and letter he retrieved. The knight opens the folded paper and begins to read, taking each detail that was written in ink on the paper. After a few minutes of reading, a stream of tears flowed once more down his face. Karin was worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Karin then looked at the letter and read what it said from behind his right shoulder. She then understood why. The princess was in love with the knight, and wants him to come back safely so they could be together. Bartz read it, too. With the necklace in his left hand, he places it to his heart, then said in a low tone, "Light...Please...Give me strength through this time of conflict..." After a few days went by, the afternoon sun shined on the group heading back to their base, after a conflict against the agents of Chaos to retrieve a specialized tool left by Cosmos to make the cure for Geo-Stigma.

"That was some battle...I hope the blood analysis is almost done on Jecht..He's going through the same thing as Tidus, like its genetic," said Reno, who accompanied them.

"I don't get it...Why is my dad going through the same thing?...-" before Tidus finished his sentence, the group then hears a sound of approaching sirens from Police cruisers heading their way.

"What's going on? Did we speed?" asked the Onion Knight. "I don't think so...Did we?" wondered Karin. As they continued down the road with the cruisers behind them, one of the cops with a megaphone calls out, "You in the SUV, pull over immediately, now." Karin had to comply. She pulls over to the right side of the road and stopped. Almost immediately, three of four cruisers surround the scene.

"Oh, gezz...What'd we do?" wondered Firion. Karin gets out of the SUV, then was approached by an officer. "What's going on? Did I speed?" Karin asked.

"There were word from witnesses that you have a fugitive, or a thief we've been trying to catch for a few days now in your vehicle," replied the officer. All the other cops then approached the scene. A female cop notices the group inside and then said, "Everyone in the vehicle get out...Lets go, come on, everyone out.." Karin then thought, 'Thank god Zidane's not with us..He's a thief.' Firion, Squall, Reno, the Onion Knight, Cloud, Tidus. and lastly Wakka got out, just as the female officer instructed.

"What'd we do? We didn't do anything bad...Did we?" wondered Squall. The Police examined each of the group, til they looked at Tidus. That's were the main reason why the cops pulled them over was revealed.

"Well, well...Who do we have here...We've been looking for you for a few days, thief," the officer said as he looked at Tidus. "What are you talking about? I didn't steal anything..Honestly.." said Tidus. Tidus moves forward a bit, but all the officers pulled out their weapons and aims it to the blitzer.

"Get down on the ground! Right now!" yelled an officer. "Please! I'm telling the whole truth...Just let me explain-" An officer yanks Tidus to the ground, placing his knee on his back to hold him down. "Hey! What'd I do!" screamed Tidus.

"What's the big idea! He didn't do anything wrong!-" "Squall, no..." said Cloud, grabbing Squall before he used his fists to hit a cop, "Don't be an idiot.."

"Officer, what's going on? He didn't do anything wrong..." said Karin. "Witnesses placed him at the scene, and testimonies from others that were there..Your friend has to come with us," answered the officer.

'Tidus was with us the whole time...He would never do this...Unless...They got the wrong guy..!' thought Karin. The officer places hand-cuffs around Tidus's wrists, then lifts him from the ground. "Hold on, officer! You got the wrong guy! The one your looking for is 'Shuyin', not him!" Karin said.

"Where's the proof? I don't see any evidence to back up your claims," said the officer. Karin didn't have the evidence, but she had to help Tidus. "We're not that dumb, miss, a fugitive can disguise themselves. We've had cases like this before," said the officer.

"Officer...Give me and my friends twenty-four hours for us to come up with the evidence...And we'll present it to you with the real culprit," Karin said.

"Alright...Twenty-four hours...If you don't come up with the evidence, we're booking him.." the officer said to Karin. The other officers place Tidus into the car, closing the door. Karin rushes to the side door of the officer's car, tapping on the window to get the blitzer's attention.

"Tidus...Don't worry! We'll get you out of this. We'll even catch the real thief to do so...Don't worry!" said Karin. Tidus smiled, then said, "I know you will...Please help me..." A tear streams down his left cheek as the car pulls away to the Police station. As a few minutes went by, a tear of rain began to fall from the cloudy sky, then it began to rain.

"We have to hurry...We have to find the one they were really looking for: Shuyin...We only have twenty-four hours to do this," said Karin. "If you want to find the real culprit in a theft...Find more info and catch'em in the act..." said the Onion Knight.

"We have to re-interview everyone...Where did this theft take place?" asked Squall. "Let's go ask around, for Tidus's sake," answered Karin as she and the others got back in the SUV, then drove off to find answers. Back at the Police station and jail house, two officers take Tidus into a cell, awaiting to be booked for 'Thieft'.

"Here's your new place...Better get used to it.." said the officer as he placed Tidus onto the bench near the opening. As Tidus continued to sit in silence, crying to himself; he hears a familiar voice across from him in the far left corner of the cell.

"Aww...Is the kid crying over there? Cry baby..." the voice said. Tidus looks up to see who was talking to him, it was Jecht. "What are you doing here?..." asked Tidus.

"Well...Funny you should ask..I was at a bar and things got a little rough..." said Jecht. "Let me guess...You got drunk and started a fight there...It took alot of cops to take you down and tasers...Right?" said Tidus.

"I guess I don't have to tell the story...It seems we're both going through the same exact same thing...The voices in our heads, advanced healing, cheating death...And possibly more we don't know about. I guess your going to get used to this...I guess we're going to be cellmates," said Jecht.

"No we're not...They're going to catch the real thief...And I will be released before the day passes," said Tidus, being firm to his father.

"Oh, are you sure?...Maybe they got sick of ya and got rid of you...Have you ever thought of that?" said Jecht, "You need to fight on your own, not with them. The world is a harsh environment, only the strongest and the great ones survive in strength alone. Get that through your head, boy..." Tidus looks to the floor and begins to cry again, but makes sure that Jecht doesn't notice, but it was all in vain.

"Crying isn't going to help you! Grow up for once in your life..." said Jecht. Tidus knew he had to endure this til the others find the real culprit. He just hoped they would hurry. As the group examined all the facts they obtained, they knew who the real culprit is.

"Karin was right...It is Shuyin...But where...Hold on, over there, look!" said the Onion Knight, pointing towards a jewelry store in the north corner of town. Karin spots the real thief, planning another bust into a store on closing hours. "Firion...Take the picture!" she whispered. Firion takes multiple pictures, but the real task was then revealed: Catch Shuyin.

"Lets go...We only have five hours left..." said Cloud. They ran in a jog to the area of the crime, determined to catch the Tidus-look alike. Back in the cell, Tidus napped on the bench with his head near the cell bars, that is until he heard someone coming near him. The blitzer wakes up to spot his father looking out the cell door.

"What do you want now? Have you tortured me enough already mentally?" said Tidus. "Have you noticed the weather lately? When you were crying, it was raining...When you were sad, it was cloudy...I don't believe this, but your emotions are somehow linked to the weather in a psychic link...Have you noticed that, kid?" asked Jecht, not looking at Tidus.

"Really?...Wait...Your lying are you?" Tidus asked in suspicion. "No...Your empathy should clear that..." answered Jecht. Tidus then returned to his nap. With three hours left til booking, an officer opens the cell door and taps Tidus awake.

"Hey..Wake up," the officer said. Tidus immediately wakes up, then groggily asked, "What? What's going on?" The officer guided Tidus out of the cell, then said. "We owe you an apology..We thought you were the thief because you and this other guy looked alike..Here ya go...Your free to go." Tidus then looks forward and sees his friends before them. Firion and Cloud were carrying a knocked out Shuyin, wrists and ankles tied together.

"I told you we would come for you..." said Karin, "Here's the real thief...Take him away, officers." Two police officers grab Shuyin and takes him to the cell Tidus was in with Jecht and tosses him in there. Karin and the others walked Tidus to the SUV, placing him in the back. Karin noticed that he began to cry, and it began to rain all of a sudden.

"Whoa..Its raining again? Is there a switch, or something?" wondered Wakka. Karin was suprised for a minute, then made a connection: When Tidus cried earlier, it started raining. She knows he's been through enough, so it was time to treat him better.

"Hey, Tidus...Don't cry, how about sitting in the front so you don't have to be in the back? How about that? I bet it'll cheer you up," said Karin. Tidus began to calm down, and ceased shedding tears. At the same time, it also stopped raining.

"Hold on a minute...No way," said Squall. "The weather...Its connected to Tidus's emotions..Like a link...," said the Onion Knight. Driving back to base, Tidus fills in the group about what Jecht said about the weather.

"He said that if I'm sad, its cloudy...When I'm crying, its raining like earlier...Its like the weather was connected to my emotions.." said Tidus. "Maybe it could be an awakening ability you didn't know you had...Maybe all your abilities are awakening," said Karin.

"Hmmm...I don't know..." said Tidus, "Is there anything good on the radio?" "I had a feeling you was going to ask that..Lets see and find out," answered Karin. She then turns the radio on and as they continued to drive back, they listened to music instead of silence all the way back to the hideout.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Surprise Calvary\ Creation of the Antidote: White Materia

**'A surprise calvary has already came for both sides, fighting one on one with their own allies. The final ingredient has been spotted, awaiting for its champion...'**

**'The antidote has been created, a substance of light of Materia. It is the world's only hope and cure, the protector against the Stigmatic Angel's poisonous vapor of disease and corruption...'**

A week has gone by since clearing Tidus's name in a crime he didn't commit. Everyone got busy on locating the last and final ingredient for the cure. As the group was awaiting for word about its location from the Goddess of Harmony, they were trying to quell another problem: A sick Tidus who all of a sudden came down with something.

"I wonder if Tidus is going to be alright..." said Reno. "I think he might have food poisoning..The symptoms of Nausea, Upset Stomach, Abdomenal Pain, and Flu-like attributes match up to it. If it is, we'll have to wait til it passes," answered Squall.

"It is food poisoning...And its something else. It seems his biology is adapting to the new abilities he has awakened. Squall is right on one thing; it'll have to run its course...There's no cure for food poisoning, so we'll have to wait til it passes," said the Onion Knight. In his room, Tidus laid in bed in sickness, groaning in agony from his flu-like symptoms, accompanied with an Upset Stomach.

"Guh...Maybe I shouldn't have ate that...Guh..." groaned Tidus. Yuna and the Onion Knight comes in, checking on the blitzer and his current status. "How are you feeling now?" asked Yuna.

"Same...I think its getting worse...I don't know," answered Tidus. "Your biology is adapting to your new acquired abilities. Beside that..How's your stomach?" asked the youth.

"Its the same..." answered Tidus. "You haven't eaten anything for a few days. Its not good for your health," said Yuna, "Maybe if you eat something, you'll feel better."

"Yuna...I can't..If I did, it'll come back up. I really want to eat something, but I'm scared it'll come back up," replied Tidus. "Have you tried soup? Its easier to digest and you'll get the nutrients into your body. You need it...Your body needs it," said the Onion Knight with worry.

"No...Is it easy to keep down?" asked Tidus. "Whenever I get ill like this, that's what I eat, including crackers...Try that," answered the Onion Knight. Tidus nodded. Yuna then got up from the bed, "I'll go see if there's any soup...Oh!" She sees Koko and Boko come into the room, carrying a tray on Boko's back with the saddle. Koko somehow wore an maid's apron and delivered the tray with an already freshly prepared soup in a bowl, and a side of crackers.

"Koko?...Did you make this soup?" asked the Onion Knight. Koko nodded and then used her left wing to pick up the spoon, giving the first spoonful of the soup to Tidus. "Koko...Thank you...I don't know if..-" Koko gave a grunt-like chirp. Boko did the same thing.

"Tidus...Koko is worried about you. She spended a long time making that for you so you can get better. You need to eat something...Will you do it for both Koko and me?" said Yuna. Tidus smiled. He sits up in the bed, then said to Koko,"Can I have some?" Koko gives a happy chirp and got a new spoonful of soup and carefully draws it to Tidus's mouth. The blitzer takes a bite and swallows the soup slowly, making sure his stomach wouldn't reject it and regurgitate it back up.

"Mmm..Its delicious...I just hope it doesn't come up...I really need it," said Tidus. Koko gave a quick nuzzle and continued to act like a nurse. Squall and Cloud came to check on Tidus after four hours later themselves.

"You feeling any better?" asked Squall. "I had some soup earlier...Koko made it herself. At least I ate something," answered Tidus.

"That's good. At least you ate something," said Cloud, "It'll take time for this to pass...You should already know about that." Tidus nodded and got up to move around a bit. After a few seconds, Tidus began to feel a wave of queasiness overtake him. Squall noticed this.

"Tidus?" asked Squall. Tidus began to recollect himself, placing his right, gauntlet hand on his stomach. "Sorry..My stomach was actting up..." After finishing the sentence, the wave came back, stronger than before. By instinct, Tidus ran to the bathroom.

"Oh, no...Yuna! Tidus got sick!" cried Cloud. Squall ran in there, seeing Tidus leaning over, regurgitating. He pats Tidus's back, trying to comfort him in someway, "Your going to be alright...It'll pass.." Tidus groaned. Yuna rushes in, "Tidus!" After a few minutes of cleaning up, Yuna and Squall return Tidus to his bed to rest.

"Here we go..Back to bed..." said Yuna, laying Tidus into the bed. The blitzer laid down, then covered up in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry...I tried to fight it, but...Guh.." groaned Tidus. "Its not your fault, the human body does this to get rid of whatever it doesn't agree with and any threats. Its biology," answered Cloud. Karin comes into the room, carrying a portable T.V set and remote.

"How's he doing?" asked Karin. "He ate some soup Koko made more than three hours ago. At least we got some nutrients into his body, but got sick...We hope it will pass," answered Yuna.

"I wanna help you guys...I really do...I can't be just sitting here..-" "No, no, no, no...You stay in bed. You need all the rest you can get," Karin interrupted Tidus, laying him back down, "I brought this up for you. I bet you haven't seen a Television set before."

"Television? I think I have..." answered Tidus. "I was thinking, since its so quiet in here, I thought it would be a good idea to bring this up for ya," said Karin. Tidus nodded.

"Your going to be fine, Tidus...You'll get better in time," said Yuna. "But Yuna...I have to help..-" "Tidus...Relax. You need to get well. I know for less than a week you got sick from food poisoning, but you need time to recuperate...Let us deal with that, take some time off to get better," Yuna calmed Tidus, placing the facts to him. One, he was not well. Two, he needs time to recover and Three, he's been through alot and needs sometime off for a bit.

"Don't worry so much, let the rest of us deal with them. You've been through alot and maybe its time to slow down and smell the flowers," said Squall. Koko comes in and checks on Tidus, wondering if he's okay. The chicks followed behind, from youngest to oldest.

"Hey...How are the little ones?" said Tidus. Koko gave a chirp, then as if on cue, one of the young chicks hop into the bed and begins lightly pecking Tidus with affection. "Awww...That's sweet..." said Tidus. Boko and Bartz arrive into the room, also checking on Tidus as well.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" asked Bartz. "Hmm...Alittle better, but still the same. At least I had some delicious soup earlier, thanks to Koko.." answered Tidus. Koko chirped with happiness, then chirped a question to Tidus.

"Koko said, 'Did the soup upset your stomach? Was it one of the ingredients in it that made you sick?' That's what she said," said Bartz, translating Koko's question.

"No...Not that I know...It didn't. It was more than three hours later that I got sick. The soup probably was digested already then," answered Tidus. Koko nodded. "Here we go...The T.V is all hooked up...Here ya go, do you know how to use a remote?" asked Karin. Tidus takes the remote into his hand and looks at it, then replied, "I think so...Let me try." He turns the T.V on and it was automatically on the Weather Channel.

'Today is going to be another beautiful day with a temp of 76 degrees and sunshine..' the Weather broadcast said on the screen. "Hm...I must be in a good mood..." said Tidus. He continues to flip through the channels, trying to see if there was anything else on.

"I think it was a really good idea to bring that up..." said Yuna. "I bet you don't have T.V. back at the Besaid Islands, huh?" asked Karin. "We don't, I'm afraid," answered Yuna. Tidus then stops at a channel that showed Soap Operas, then began to watch it.

"I think he found something to watch..." said Karin. As soon as Karin finished her sentence, Paine arrives into the room, "The Warrior of Light just got a message from the Goddess of Harmony...The last ingredient has been found, its in an abandoned mine near the southwest outskirt of this city."

"I know where that is...Its the only one there..." said Karin. Paine then turns to Yuna, then asked, "Are you going to stay here with Tidus?"

"Yes...I'm not leaving him by himself," answered Yuna. Paine nodded then left. "I'll be alright...I think.." said Tidus. The others in the room then went to follow Paine, except Koko, the chicks, Yuna, and Boko. "You gonna stay here for now?" asked Bartz. Boko nods and gives a chirp.

"Okay...Help get Tidus better you guys," said Bartz. "We will...We'll even make sure of that," answered Yuna. The group then heads to the main room of the hideout, with the Warrior of Light waiting for them.

"Here's the group that will head there, but before that, Cid has made a discovery," said the Warrior of Light. "Yeah...Both me and the Onion Knight examined the blood sample of Jecht..You are not going to believe this. His DNA strand only has one strand and it is the 'Sin' DNA. Basically in English, he's full 'Sin'," said Cid.

"No way...Like he 'Is' Sin?" asked Lorena. "Don't know.." answered Cid. "Here is the group that will head to the mine: Karin, Lorena, Lulu, Firion, Zidane, Bartz, Vincent, Cloud, Squall, and Cecil...In Lorena's vehicle, which she will be driving in will have: Paine, Terra, me, Rikku, Yuffie, and Tifa. The rest will stay here and help keep an eye on Tidus," said the Warrior of Light. After the meeting, everyone got into each of the two vehicles.

"You know what's weird?" said Lorena, turning her car on, "You are the only one that isn't a girl, huh, Warrior of Light."

"I know..." said the knight. Yuffie then turns to him and said, "Sexist..." "No I'm not.." answered the Warrior of Light.

"Admit it..You are," said Paine. "No I'm not..." said the Warrior of Light. "Enough of your squabbles, girls...If he starts acting up back there, you know what to do..." said Lulu, teasing with the knight. Terra giggles to herself.

"You guys ready?" asked Karin. The group nodded. "I can't believe all the girls are with Lorena...Plus the Warrior of Light...And I got all the guys..Oh, boy.." said Karin. "Oh, behave, driver...Or I'll come up there," said Zidane.

"Your such a womanizer, you know that, Mr. Tribal?" said Karin. Vincent sat in the front seat next to Karin, looking out the window in silence as the SUV followed Lorena's car.

"Never been in a car before, Vincent?" asked Karin, hoping to strike a conversation with Vincent Valentine to break the silence. "No...I have not..." he answered.

"I have a question...Can you change into other forms...Other than that wolf-like one?" Karin asked. Vincent then turned to her, then answered, "That form is called 'Galian Beast'..Yes I can..."

"Whoa..." awed Bartz. The two vehicles arrive at their destination of the mine Cosmos mentioned, but as they approached the scene, they saw a third vehicle there: A pitch-black big sized van. "Who's the third group? Who's side is this group on?" wondered Karin.

"There's only one way to find out..We have to get in there," said Squall. Lorena and her group get out of the Lorena's car, and the Warrior of Light was escaping a slapping from both Tifa and Rikku, both girls chanting 'Sexist..'

"Gah! I didn't say anything! Please!" said the Warrior of Light, fleeing from them. "Get him, girls...That's 'Girl Power' right there, don't underestimate it," said Lulu, arming herself with a Moogle doll. Karin had a shocked look on her face, then said, "I can't believe this...The Warrior of Light gets beat up by girls? There went your title.."

"I didn't say anything offensive...I swear..." said the knight. They enter the mines quietly, hoping that the enemy is not going to be near. "Let's just hope the enemy isn't here..." said Bartz.

"Not a chance...They'll be here, either before or after us..." said Firion. Everyone splitted up into different groups. Karin and Lorena were together with Lulu and Terra, while the others were in their own different groups. Just as Karin was going to check a section of the mines alone, she meets someone there that she somehow recognized from one of her Final Fantasy games. The man wore a black colored armor with a black cape. His weapon, fused together like a double bladed spear was the same color except the blades. His helmet was also the same color, but had a type of curled horn-based design on each side of the helmet like actual horns.

'Hold on...That guy is from Final Fantasy XII...' thought Karin. "Hey...Is your name...Gabranth?" she asked out loud. The man responded, "So..I guess I don't have to tell you my name..." the man's name was 'Gabranth'.

"Who's side are you on?" Karin asked. "I'm with no one, but do chose who's side I desire to be on..For this case...Chaos. We're all doomed...They are coming to punish us from a world of both Light and Darkness..." said Gabranth.

"What are you blabbering about? Who's coming?" Karin demanded. "They are coming to punish us for our sins...Both sides will suffer. They are coming...To rid the problem once and for all..." said Gabranth, then he faded into thin air, leaving no trace behind, just like a ghost.

"Wait!...Rats, he got away..." said Karin, then the others that were with Karin rush to the scene. "What happened? Who was you talking to?" asked Lulu. "Do you or Terra know a guy named 'Gabranth'?" asked Karin.

"Him...He's a Judge Magister from some empire...You saw him did you?" asked Terra. "Yeah, I did...But now he's gone," answered Karin. "He's on no ones' side, but now he's on sides with Chaos. If he was here, then the enemy will be as well," said Lulu.

"Girls...He said we're going to be punished, both sides are, for our sins. He stated 'They' are coming from a world of Darkness and Light...Does any of this make any sense?" said Karin. The others thought for a minute. Terra was the first to answer, "I sensed something bad was going to happen in the final confrontation...I don't know what, but I believe somehow the two elements of Dark and Light are involved...Somehow...I think Gabranth is trying to warn us about something...But what is the main question..." The girls pondered this for a bit, then went back to their task: Retrieve the final ingredient.

Back at the hideout, Tidus lays in bed, watching television with Yuna right next to him, taking a nap.

"There's alot of funny shows on here..." said Tidus. He then turns to Yuna and lays his head on hers. After a few minutes went by, a Chocobo chick waddles in, heading towards the bed. It hops in and hides under the covers. "Hey...What are you doing? Did you stray away from your momma?" asked Tidus. The chick hid under the blanket, snuggling up to Tidus. The chick gives a chirp.

"Hey...What are you doing? What are you doing?" asked Tidus, as if he was talking to a child. The chick chirped, then gave a soft peck of affection with a heart over its head. "Aww...Your so sweet..Checking up on me?" said Tidus. Yuna begins to stir, then sits up.

"Who are you talking to?...Oh, hello," said Yuna, spotting the chick. It gave a chirp and went to Yuna. "Oh, was you checking up on Tidus? Your mommy is going to worry and be looking for you...-" Then they heard a grunt-sounded chirp from the doorway, then turned to see Koko. Koko has found her missing chick and ruffled her feathers. "Uh, oh..There's your mom.." said Tidus. Koko moves to the chick and chirped, saying 'Where were you?'. The chick responded and hid under the blanket.

"Now, now...This little one wanted to check on me...And snuggle," said Tidus, trying to calm Koko. Koko calmed down a bit, then Boko came in with a tray on his saddle with a bowl of Koko's soup, freshly made by Koko herself. "I guess its time to eat...Yum.." said Tidus. He hopes he doesn't get sick again like earlier, but he has to eat something, or he'll starve. Yuna then offers an advice.

"Try eating it a bit at a time...That way your stomach can get used to it," said Yuna. "Not a bad idea..." answered Tidus. Koko nodded in return, as if stating, 'That would be a good idea'. Bit by bit, Tidus ate the soup slowly, only stopping when his stomach said stop.

"There ya go...That way your stomach can get used to it..." said Yuna. Five hours go by and Tidus lays in bed, napping. Yuna went to help out Wakka on something, so she made sure Tidus was alright by himself. Tidus began to dream, a dream that was somehow real to him. In the dream, he was a ruin site he found very familiar to him. The buildings were in shambles, some leaning while others stood straight up with designs bolded out in neon blue. Pillars surround the area as he came closer to the ruins. Tidus knew what this place was. It was the ancient ruins of his home, Zanarkand.

'Zanarkand...I miss this place...My home..' said Tidus in the dream. As he drew closer to the center square of the ruins, he sees Cosmos standing in the middle, as if waiting for him.

'Cosmos? What is she doing here? What?' Tidus then saw Jecht standing right next to her, as if they were on the same side, but the ace blitzer didn't see that in his point of view.

'Get away from her!' Tidus yelled at Jecht, rushing to the goddess's aid, but Cosmos interrupts the ace's attack, 'No...He isn't here to harm me, nor you...' Tidus ceases, confused.

'I guess the only time now to talk to you is through telepathy...And dreams...I sensed you got sick..Feeling any better?' asked Jecht, trying to bring out a sentence of worry.

'Yeah...But why are you worried? You don't even care,' countered Tidus. 'Kid, knock it off...Please...This isn't a game,' said Jecht. Tidus was shocked by this new personality that he hasn't seen from his father before. 'We're here at the ruins of Zanarkand in our sleep, because...We forgot...' Jecht continued.

'Forgot? Forgot what?' wondered Tidus. 'We forgot...Who we really were..What we really are...Don't you see, Tidus? The abilities that are awakening within us, advanced healing...DNA...Its telling us we're not human, but something else. I don't know what I am, nor you...' answered Jecht. Tidus thought for a minute. Cosmos intervened.

'Tidus...Do you remember...Who you really are?' she asked. In a flash, Tidus and Jecht alone were transported to a another location of the ruins, in front of a great pillar with a stone structured sword driven into the platform nearby.

'Why are we here?' asked Tidus. 'I don't know...But somehow, the answer to our amnesia is in there..Lets go,' answered Jecht. The two blitzers walked towards a statue of a creature standing on a pillar top. The creature statue had a total of six arms; the upper set in a type of folded prayer, the middle set in a Yevon style prayer, where someone puts their left hand over the palm of their right hand from chest to middle of their abdomen, while the final set of arms held a sword in each hand. It only wore a type of loincloth that was in the front, mimicking that of Chaos, the God of Discord. The design etched into it was a familiar 'T' based design that Jecht and Tidus both bore. A type of plating was covering its mouth like a mouth plate for battle. Spike-like spines ran up from the tip of its tail to is back and neck, spiky-like hair, or horns acting like hair, and lastly six pairs of wings: Two sets of bat-like webbed wings, while the middle set was avian, or angelic wings.

'Whoa...Some statue..What's that say?' wondered Tidus. He peers below the statue that read out in Spirian text 'Bahamugena, Deity of Zanarkand'. Jecht also read it. 'Baha...Mugena? I never heard a name like that..Except something similar, like 'Bahamut',' said Jecht. Tidus spots another statue about a yard away. As he drew closer, its appearance almost was similar to the other.

'What the?..Another one?' wondered Jecht. The second statue also had six arms, Its lower and middle set was copying the first statue, but the upper set held onto two extra swords, two more than the first. Since almost all of the statue's features are similar to the first, there some key differences. It had two sets of insect wings and a middle set of bat-like webbed wings, chained wrists, ankles, and neck, A type of fin end near the tip of its tail, and lastly more thorny, spike-like hair than the other.

'Whoa..That thing is freaky...' said Tidus. He then reads the text below it, which read out in Spirian text, 'Sin, Destroyer of Spira.' Tidus then turns to Jecht, 'Dad..This thing is named 'Sin'...I thought Sin was a big whale of somekind...'

'I don't get it...This is like clues, but what? Why can't anything make sense...?' answered Jecht. After a few minutes go by in the dream, Tidus looks towards his father, then tried out his new telepathic ability, communicating to Jecht with his mind.

'Hey...Can you hear me? I'm using telepathy...' Tidus said. Jecht turned to Tidus, 'Yes I can...I'm doing the same thing, too...' he answered. It seems Tidus and Jecht both know telepathy. Now the conversation was going to take another spin.

'Why do we fight? Every time this war escalates, Shinryu always appears to restart the whole thing all over again. We don't want to fight anymore, but yet we do...Why?' asked Tidus.

'I don't know...' was Jecht's only answer. 'Why do you fight? Why are you always going into battle? Aren't you sick and tired of fighting?' asked Tidus.

'To be honest...Its both..' answered Jecht, 'Why do I fight? To show I'm the greatest...Better than them in a way...-' this answer angered Tidus. 'That's all you ever think about! Is fighting, fighting, fighting!...Dad...When will there be a day we just got along, like father and son? Will there ever be a day of that!' Tidus stands up, showing an angry glare at Jecht.

'Tidus...' said Jecht. 'So now your calling me by my name? All you ever call me is either 'Kid' or 'Brat'. Why do you do that! Am I not strong enough to back you up? I'll tell you why...Why I hate you so much...And Why I fight...' Tidus fumed, 'Because I want to be as strong as you...I want to be like you, to take your place...Like I did with the Zanarkand Abes when you retired. I idolized you, father..But you always treat me like a kid...Like I'm inferior to you...!' This struck Jecht, he didn't know that his usual nature of a brutal warrior was causing tension between the two. All this time to Jecht, the reason of their constant battles was clear, right in his face: Acceptance.

'All I ever wanted...From you, was to tell me that I have gotten stronger...But for years, I never get that except that one time during this war...What kind of a father are you!' shouted Tidus through telepathy. 'Tidus, wait!' Jecht called out, trying to stop Tidus from fleeing. Tidus pushes the ex-athlete away and yells out in telepathy, 'Stay away from me!'. He runs to the stone sword's location, while Jecht was close behind, chasing his son to the location he was going to. After arriving to the stone sculpture of a sword in the platform, he sits behind it and begins to cry, causing the whole ruins to get wet from the rain above in the skies.

'Why can't he even understand?..That's all I have to fight...Is to be like him, and someday...To watch his back. No...Its never gonna happen. Why do I always dream of such nonsense? I should just stop this dreaming and hope it all ends...' said Tidus through a veil of tears. As the whole ruins continued to take each drop of rain from Tidus's sadness, the ace blitzer stands up and looks to a monument in from of him. It was a monument with the same 'T' based symbol as with one of the statues, Tidus, and Jecht.

'I want this dream to end! I can't do this anymore!' screamed Tidus, into the air with anger and frustration. Just as Tidus finishes, Jecht arrives to the scene, 'If you want this dream to end...It could affect Yuna..' Tidus turned to face his father with shock. Jecht was soaked with rainfall, 'If you want this dream to end...And maybe all the others...What about a dream with Yuna? Have you ever thought of that, Tidus...'

'Stay away from me...My dreams will always come to an end...Like what happened during the pilgrimage against Sin. I...I never had any dreams..I never did..' said Tidus.

'Kid...You always had dreams..Don't lie to me like that...' said Jecht. 'No...It will end...I had a nightmare that Seymour took Yuna away from me. Shuyin took your sword and struck me in the middle while you was sitting there crying...This nightmare is trying to tell me that my dreams are going to come to an end yet again...Don't you understand...Its useless to dream,' said Tidus, tears streaming down his face.

'Crying doesn't get anyone no where...You know that..Quit acting like a child and be a man..' said Jecht, walking towards his son. Tidus wanted to run away or fight him off, but he stayed his ground. 'Go away...I don't need this now...What are you...!' Before Tidus finished his sentence, he gets a bear hug from Jecht, refusing to let go.

'Tidus..You do have dreams...Don't you get it. I didn't know..Our conflicts meant something and I just didn't see it. Dreams only end when you die...Don't die, or it will all end,' said Jecht, expressing his remorse to Tidus. The ace blitzer stood there, still crying. Jecht joined Tidus, thus for the first time Tidus actually saw his father cry. It wasn't a happy cry, nor a fake cry; it was a real, saddened cry. The two blitzers stood their ground and stood in the rain of Tidus's sadness. For the next ten minutes in the dream, they stood where they were at, crying til they couldn't anymore. Tidus fully understood why Cosmos summoned both Jecht and him, it was to settle an eternal conflict that tore the two apart. Ten minutes go by, and the dream was about to come to an end.

'Kid...In the final battle...When we both fight against one another, show me how strong you are..I want to know..If you have gotten stronger. Get well til then...Farewell, my son...' said Jecht, holding onto Tidus til the whole background faded, indicating the ending of the dream and the telepathic connection between father and son. Tidus slowly opens his eyes, then sits up to inspect the room, realizing he left the T.V. on.

"Man...How long was I asleep?" Tidus wondered. His answer came when he heard Yuna speak, "You was asleep for an hour..." Tidus turned to face Yuna. She continues her sentence, "I came back and noticed you was in a deep sleep, so I didn't disturb you. How was your nap?"

"It was good...I had a dream...My dad was in it somehow. We didn't fight, but settled a difference of our constant fighting. Yuna...Cosmos was in it earlier, and both her and my dad said that we could be something or someone else we can't remember about, like who we really are...Yuna..I don't think I'm who I am..." answered Tidus, telling her his dream.

"Like a way of self discovery?" asked Yuna. Just as Tidus was about to say something else, he hears a chirping noise under his blanket and notices a small bump from where the noise came from under the blanket.

"Oh, no..." Tidus lifts the blanket off, revealing a Chocobo chick underneath, waking up from its own nap. It lifts its head and looks around, then gave a small chirp. "Hey...What are you doing? Was you cozy underneath there while I was napping?" asked Tidus. The chick responded and waddled to Tidus. Just when the chick approached the blitzer. Koko arrives, fluttering her feathers. Koko arrives to the chick, stating 'Where were you? I was worried sick!'. The chick chirped and went to its mother, giving a light peck with affection.

"Yeah, something like that," Tidus answered Yuna's question, while petting the Chocobo chick. She nodded. "This little one was snuggling with me...Its okay, Koko...Worrying like that must mean your a good momma, huh?" said Tidus. Koko chirped in agreement and nuzzled the chick. Tidus then had a question for Yuna, "Hey...Do you know a name called 'Bahamugena'...I know about Sin, but that one...Do you?" Yuna thought for a minute.

"I think I do...But I can't remember. During the days as a summoner, I read about that name, but I can't remember, why?" answered Yuna. "I want to know...I really do...This could be a clue about what is going on with me-" "Did you say...'Bahamugena'?" Wakka's voice asked. The group then turned to the former coach for the Besaid Aurochs.

"Yeah...Do you still know, Wakka?" asked Yuna. "I still have that book, Yuna...I still have it, ya...Let's go take a look," answered Wakka.

Back at the mines, the enemy is on high alert, fighting off the warriors of Cosmos at full force. The Emperor was fighting off Karin, hoping to hurt her with his magic.

"Foolish woman...I know what will crush you the worst. I bet Firion told you of what I did to Fynn, didn't he?" cooed Mateus, "I'll do that to him, just to make you beg for mercy...Don't hide it...I already know about you and him."

"Stay away from him, you freak!" growled Karin. As she tried to strike, she was instantly electrocuted into submission by the Emperor. "Know your place! I am the ruler, you are the pawn..You follow orders from the ruler, which is I," said Mateus. Karin tried to get back up.

"Do not struggle no more...You will join that rebel very soon...In death..." the Emperor said. A type of shield-based design appeared in front of him, casting a familiar spell. Firion rushes in, shielding her. "Karin!" Firion called out.

"How sweet...What a lovely reunion...But it must end...Suffer!" cooed the Emperor. Before he casted the spell, both Firion and Karin closed their eyes, knowing they were about to die, but what they didn't saw next should of shook them. Before the spell was casted, a spiked, blonde haired man in a black uniform punches Mateus in his face, knocking the wind out of him.

"Stay away from them...Freak.." The man threatened. Firion and Karin opened their eyes, seeing the man threatening the Emperor with his fist alone. 'No way...He's from Final Fantasy VIII..Like Squall..' thought Karin. Firion recognized him.

"Zell! You made it!" Firion called out. Mateus tried to reach for his staff, but someone else got to him before he did and stomped their foot on his hand. "Gah! Curse you..." growled Mateus. Looming above him was a woman in a type of orange, sleeveless dress and dark brown pants and shoes. Dark brown sleeves weren't attatched to the dress, but it was part of her outfit, along with the same colored gloves. What was deadly is that she was armed with a chain-like whip with a blade-like diamond object at the end.

"Don't think about it..." she threatened. Mateus fumed, but he casts a Firaga spell at the mine's ceiling, causing a type of cave in to lower their guard. It works and he gets his staff, fleeing the area. "Gah! He got away! Get back here!-" "Zell...Now's not the time, over there..." the woman said. The pair ran to the scene to Firion.

"Quistis...Zell..You two made it just in time.." sighed Firion. "Are you guys like back up?" asked Karin.

"Sent by the goddess herself, so with others. We got here first, but the enemy got here even more quicker than we...Is Squall here?" asked Quistis.

"He's somewhere..." answered Firion. In the far east section, Squall and Cloud are fighting off Ultimecia and Exdeath. "These guys are going no where...Keep hitting them!" said Squall. "Working on it.." said Cloud.

"We will send you to oblivion!" said Exdeath. Ultimecia fires arrows of magic daggers of purple, aiming at Squall alone, while Exdeath dealt with Cloud, but was shoved out of the way by Sephiroth. "No...I fight Cloud, not you," said Sephiroth.

"Guys...Let me deal with Exdeath," said Bartz, arriving at the scene. The two nodded, then dealt with their nemeses. Squall fought with Ultimecia, trying to break through her barrier.

"Not this time..Graahh!" roared Squall, managing to pierce the barrier with his gunblade. Ultimecia takes a step back and tries to fire a dagger-like arrow at Squall, but the SeeD mercenary foresaw this and struck her hand. "Gahh!" shrieked Ultimecia, leaving herself open.

"I'll send you back to where you belong...In history!" Squall said, about to take out the time witch, but just when he was about to strike, another blade clashes with his, blocking the attack. It took Squall one look to find out who blocked the attack. The man that blocked the attack had short cut blonde hair and wore a silver jacket with a cross design on each of his sleeves. A type of blue colored shirt underneath and black pants and shoes. What the man had that was similar to Squall is a scar across his forehead near his nose, like a mirror image to Squall's.

"No...Not you, Seifer.." groaned Squall. "I see you remember me still, Leonhart..." sneered Seifer. Squall leaped back, then said, "So your still on that witch's side...Like before...You just picked the wrong side.."

"Like I care?...All I need is to take you out, my rival...And protect Ultimecia at all costs," said Seifer. Ultimecia got back up, but her bodyguard turned to her and said, "Don't worry...We'll take care of him...I'll hold him til you heal, Ultimecia."

"I know you will..." answered Ultimecia. Lorena and Zidane dealt with Kuja and Vivian, as if a rivalry between fathers and daughters. "I'll deal with Kuja, you deal with Vivian.." said Zidane in Trance.

"Got it.." said Lorena. She combats Vivian while in another location Zidane fought Kuja. Zidane wasn't having any luck at first. "Your going to pay for what you did to her!" cried Zidane, slashing his dagger swords at the Genome mage before him.

"She said she'd do anything...Don't you ever understand what humans will do to live," cooed Kuja, "I can imagine the lovely music she played, the whimper and the fear..Such a lovely melody..."

"Your sick...Kuja!" cried Zidane, making an attempt to harm Kuja, which proved unsuccessful. The mage levitated to the right, firing his light, magic orbs at Zidane from the air, causing explosions near the thief. One of the orbs nailed a box near Zidane and the debris nailed him in the leg, causing a cut.

"Hahahaha...That's the melody I was looking for from you...Such screams of agony," said Kuja, approaching a wounded Zidane. Lorena casted Curaga on her left leg, but she made herself prone to the next attack from Vivian.

"Don't struggle no more...You will soon return to the planet, and become a part of him in return..." she said, prepared to finish Lorena off. 'No...Dad...Someone, help..." thought Lorena. Just as Vivian took a swing from her blade, a dark haired man rushes to the scene with a machine gun and opens fire at Vivian, only causing harm to the arm she had the blade in to disarm her. The man wore a kind of armor-based uniform with shoulder guards.

"Gah! Curse you!...I'll fall into the shadows..Just like him," Vivian growled after a shriek of pain. She fled the scene. The man then went to Lorena and then asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...She got me, but I'm okay..." said Lorena. As soon as she finished, other people arrived to the scene, heading towards the man armed with a machine gun. The first of the group, another man that wore a type of cowboy hat on his head and long, brown hair, pulled back in a pony-tail. He wore a kind of western outfit, but also wore fingerless gloves on his hands. He as well wore a type of necklace around his neck and armed with a shotgun.

"Is she alright, Laguna?" he asked him. Lorena has heard of a Final Fantasy character with that name, but which one is the main question. "She's fine now, Irvine...I nailed the other woman before she had a chance to attack..." answered Laguna. After hearing the second name, 'Irvine', she then remembered. Laguna and Irvine are from Final Fantasy VIII, just like Squall. Two other guys arrive to the scene, both wearing the same thing as Laguna. One of them had wavy, pulled back hair, armed with a type of sword, or long-bladed dagger. The second wore a type of bandanna on his head, armed with a big harpoon spear. A woman rushes to Lorena, wearing a blue, sleeveless jacket with a type of fabric-based bracelet that stretched up her forearm. Her shirt underneath was as black as night, including her shoes and shorts she wore under a dark navy blue skirt. A type of pendent necklace was around her neck.

"Hey, you okay now?" she asked, moving her black hair away from her face. "Yeah...I think..." As if on cue, another woman rushes to the scene, wearing a type of yellow, overall-based dress and dark brown boots. She was armed with Nunchukus.

"I got one question though...Who's side are you guys on?" asked Lorena. "Cosmos...She sended us here as reinforcements for you guys," answered the man with the harpoon. "Who are you guys? I overheard his name is 'Laguna' and his is 'Irvine'," asked Lorena.

"I am Laguna. This is Riona, Selphie, Kiros, Ward, and Irvine," answered Laguna. Lorena nodded, then said, "Do you guys know a 'Leonhart'?" They perked up, then the woman in blue and black, Riona then answered with a question of her own, "You mean 'Squall Leonhart'? Is he here?" Lorena was shocked.

"Yeah...He's probably fighting Ultimecia somewhere..." answered Lorena. Zidane tries to flee from Kuja, but the mage had other ideas to torture the Genome thief before him. "I'm going to make you scream in agony...Like what that woman did to me with that retched electrical device and her weapon..." growled Kuja. Just before he casts a orb at Zidane, a knight of somekind rushes in and tackles the mage head on, knocking him to the wall.

"What the...?" wondered Zidane. Another man rushes to the scene and accompanies the knight in tackling the mage with all his strength. The second man was garbed in green and wore orange boots and red buckle-based straps on his upper forearms. His skin was as white as snow and his hair was as red as fire, or scarlet red, including his beard that was shown. More arrived to tackle down Kuja. The third wore a type of puffy hat on their head, wearing a type of robe-like outfit with their tongue out. The fourth stood back, as if preparing to cast a type of magic spell. He wore a type of blue jacket and brown gloves and shoes, including striped pants. The person's hat was big and curled at the top end, covering a blackened head with bright yellow eyes.

"Hold em guys! Do your best!" the person called out with the big hat. The others were women. The first of the remainder was like a humanoid rat in someway with white hair, garbed in red, white, blue, yellow, and green. The second was a little child with blue hair and a bow on her hair. She wore a red sleeved outfit of yellow and peach, including brown and silver boots. The third was garbed in yellow and white, including red, boot like heeled shoes and same colored gloves. Her black hair was pulled back towards the end of her long hair. She was armed with a staff-like weapon and she instantly rushes at Kuja.

"Zidane! Hang on!" the child called out, then ran to Zidane. She herself casted Curaga, healing Zidane's wounds. "What the...Eiko, what are you doing here?" asked Zidane.

"To save you from Kuja, that's what..." answered the child, named 'Eiko'. The others assualt the mage, while the woman with the staff weapon hits him in the head, as hard as she can hit.

"That's for hurting Zidane!" she yelled at Kuja, bashing his head. Kuja growls and roars in pain, but with four to five people holding him down, Kuja was not going nowhere. The man with the big hat was ready to cast a spell. "Guys! Move!" the man said to the group. The knight, holding Kuja in a headlock, sees what's going to happen.

"Move!" he shouted out. Others flee the area, and the mage casts a Firaga spell of his own, striking Kuja in a full hit. The mage flies backwards, hitting a metal beam in the process. "Grrraaahhh!..Grrrr...Curses...Doh..My back...Grrrr..." growled Kuja, then flees the area. The knight turns to Zidane; so does the others and everyone rushes to him.

"Zidane! Are you alright?" asked the knight. "No way...Freya, Steiner, Amarant, Quina, Vivi...And..." Zidane then turns to the woman with the staff weapon, "...Garnet..." The woman, named 'Garnet', kneels to the thief.

"Zidane...I guess we meet again..." she said to him. "Cosmos sent us with others as back up..." said Amarant.

"Really? The more the merrier...Heh heh heh..." chuckled Zidane. "Speaking of Cosmos..." said Garnet, "She mentioned to me you have a daughter...Is this true?" Vivi, the black mage, was suprised, "You have a daughter? Why didn't you tell us this!" The others were shocked as well. Zidane, however, was upset. He felt like he betrayed her in someway.

"Garnet...I'm sorry...I..I..." Zidane started, trying to explain to her. "Such a womanizer...You always were, Tribal. Where is the mom?" asked Garnet. Zidane explains what happened to Lorena's mother, and as soon as he finishes, Garnet puts her right hand over her mouth and gasps.

"Oh, my god...I'm so sorry..." said Garnet, expressing extreme sadness. The others were also showing sadness as well. "Is she alright...? Is your daughter alright?" asked Eiko. Zidane's thought then returned to Lorena, "Lorena! We got to get to her!" Zidane then gets up and rushes to Lorena's location. The group follows closely. Back at the location, Lorena finishes her healing, til she hears Zidane's voice.

"Lorena!" cried Zidane. Lorena then calls out, "Over here!" Zidane and his group reaches the location and Zidane was the first to reach Lorena. He then sees that Riona, Selphie, and both Kiros and Ward were near the area as well.

"You guys made it...As back up, I presume?" asked Zidane. "Yep...Irvine and Laguna went to find Squall.." answered Ward. Garnet approaches Lorena, then askes, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..I'm fine now..." said Lorena. Irvine and Laguna searched feverly for Squall, til they hear swords clashing from a few yards away. Squall and Seifer continue to fight against one another, til Laguna rushes in and fires at Seifer, causing him to dodge the bullets. Ultimecia sees that they will soon become out numbered and she said, "Seifer! We must flee! Lets go!" The two flee the area, leaving Laguna with Squall.

"What the..Dad?" wondered Squall, "What are you doing here?" "Cosmos...That's why. Are you alright?" asked Laguna. Irvine rushes to the scene, then said, "Cloud's in trouble...Sephiroth is gaining the upper hand!" Laguna nods, then turns to Squall, "Forget about those two for a bit and go to Lorena...Riona is there as well." Squall was shocked, but he headed to where Lorena is while both Irvine and Laguna headed to Cloud. Cloud falls to the ground with a wounded arm, trying to get back up to fight off Sephiroth, but the One Winged Angel prevented it.

"The Geo-Stigma has taken its toll on you...You are not strong enough..." said Sephiroth, "Are you prepared to return to the planet?" Cloud gave out a growl, but before Cloud backed away, Irvine and Laguna both open fire at the former hero, pumping him with shot-gun shells and machine gun bullets. With each hit, Sephiroth falters backwards, then falls to the ground, filled with bullets, wounds, and covered with his own blood.

"Gotcha!" said Irvine. "I call that an 'Over kill'...Cloud, you alright?" asked Laguna. "Yeah...You really nailed Sephiroth...-" "No!" a female voice called out. They see Vivian run to Sephiroth's body, then Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo follow next, with Kadaj yelling, "Lord Sephiroth!"

"We gotta go...Now.." whispered Cloud. "You! You killed Sephiroth! Kill them, Yazoo!" screamed Vivian. With no second thought, Yazoo opens fire with his revolver, but missed them as they fled the area. "Darn it...I missed.." fumed Yazoo.

"Sephiroth..No...Please..No, don't die, please..." Vivian cried. The three reminants cried as well, but just as a few minutes went by, Sephiroth's eyes instantly snap open. "Guys! Look!" Loz called out. Sephiroth began to move, but also, he began to heal, regenerating from the over kill of bullets. Vivian was shocked, but glad he was still alive.

"Sephiroth..Your alive.." said Vivian. "I cannot die...I never can..." said Sephiroth. He then looks to Vivian's left arm, then said, "Your wounded...Who?"

"It was them..It was that guy with the machine gun..." answered Vivian. Sephiroth knew who it was. "Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo..Hunt that Laguna down...And Irvine...I want them dead, immediately," said Sephiroth. The three remnants followed orders and hunted them down. Sephiroth stayed with Vivian, tending to her wounds. Kuja arrives shortly afterwards.

"I tried to kill the key...But I failed..Again..Gahh!" Vivian cried out in pain as Sephiroth removed the bullet remains from her arm. She tries to fight the pain, remaining as emotionless through the process. Sephiroth sensed her pain.

"You are still human...You don't have to try so hard," said Sephiroth. Kuja casted Curaga as soon as Sephiroth was finished, healing up the wounds of her left arm. "Don't worry...We'll keep trying...They haven't found it yet. Don't try so hard, so you don't have to put yourself in danger," said Kuja, acting as a worried parent.

"No...Failure is inexcusable! We must win this! We must...Gahhh!" Vivan said, then screamed out in pain as the final bullet remain was pulled out of her left arm. Sephiroth finished, and held her in his arms.

"You take things too seriously...It'll end up killing you...Don't torture yourself like this," said Sephiroth. Vivian then makes a demand to Sephiroth, "I don't want to feel pain anymore...I don't want to feel human emotions, like you...I want to be like you...I want to become you. Make me like you...In someway...I don't want to be human anymore..." Sephiroth listened carefully. Kuja was uneasy.

"There is...One way..." said Sephiroth. "No...Sephiroth...Not that..No.." said Kuja.

"That is right...Infusion of Jenova Cells...Lots of it," answered the One Winged Angel, "Listen to Vivian first. Let her speak." Vivian speaks to Kuja. He listens, then thought for a bit. After a few hours of combat and searching, the whole group found the final ingredient, located in a hidden tunnel in the mines, they immediately evacuated. Karin, Squall, Riona, Laguna, and Irvine rush behind the others, till they began to feel a temperature change.

"What the...Cloud?" asked Irvine. "He's not dead...He's coming!" Cloud called out. Laguna then stops Cloud, "What do you mean he's not dead..? You saw both me and Irvine gun him down..What's going on?"

"Sephiroth is a product of an expirament titled 'Project JENOVA'. They made him perfect. He's able to regenerate himself, he'll keep coming til he finishes what he started," explained Cloud. "Oh, great...Now we can't take this guy down..." said Irvine. Everyone approaches the exit, Vincent was waiting, telling them to hurry.

"Hurry..He's coming.." said Vincent. Karin noticed that he was in a different form other than his real form and Galian Beast form. Vincent was more demonic with bat-like, webbed wings. As everyone made it to the exit, Vivian rushes at Karin, scratching her right arm with her blade. Vincent responded by changing form again to the Galian Beast, then bit into her arm with his sharp fangs.

"Grahh! Curse you, Valentine!" screamed Vivian, scratching her nails across his face. Vincent then grabbed her and tossed her into a stone-structured walls. Karin turns to Vivian, then turned to look at the access-way, seeing Sephiroth gliding towards them with his wing.

"Incoming!" screamed Karin. Vincent changes form again, to his demonic form armed with his tri-barreled revolver. Irvine and Laguna joins him, and opens fire at Sephiroth, knocking him out of the air. They continued to fire their guns til he stopped moving. "I think we got him! If what Cloud says is true, lets get out of here before he gets back up, lets go!" cried Irvine. Everyone rushes out of the mines and into the vehicles that were outside. They also discover that the third vehicle was used by the third group. Driving away from the scene, they didn't look back as they fled with the final ingredient. Back in the cavern, Sephiroth recovered, just as Cloud spoke of.

"Vivian...Where are you?" Sephiroth called out. Vivian called out to him, causing him to rush to her. All the soldiers present at the scene rushed to the scene, including Kuja.

"No..No, no, no...Who did this to you?" asked Kuja. "Va...Val...Valentine..." said Vivan, groaning in a daze.

"Vincent..." growled Kadaj. "Sephiroth...Take the pain away...I want it to go away...Please..." said Vivan, pleading. Kuja heals up her wounds. "What must we do..?" asked Kuja. Heading back, Garnet talks to Lorena, then said, "I'm sorry for your mother's death...It must of been hard for you."

"It was...But it was more harder on Karin..But we have to move on...Did Zidane tell you?" asked Lorena. Garnet then said, "Cosmos did..Not Zidane...He's a womanizer..I assure you, but he's not afraid to show you his feelings." Lorena nodded. The vehicles pulled into the driveway, parking outside the hideout. As they parked and turned off the cars, they all got out, heading inside.

"That form you took..What is it called?" Karin asked Vincent. "Chaos...Not like the God of Discord, but the same name," he answered. Karin nodded, then went to check on Tidus, who was still recovering from his illness. Karin arrives at the room and goes in, seeing the chicks, Koko, and Boko with Tidus in bed, watching T.V.

"Hey..You came back! I thought the battle there was going to be worse up there, but you came back alive..That's good. There's alot of funny shows on here..I was laughing at all of them," said Tidus. Koko got up and nuzzled Karin.

"Oh..Koko..." said Karin. The chicks fluttered all their feathers, glad that Karin was alright and back safely. "Hey, little ones..How ya doing?" Karin asked, talking to them like to a little child, which the chicks were. The chicks cooed and flapped their wings in happiness.

"Aw..That's sweet...Uhm, Karin, someone's trying to get in behind you," said Tidus. Karin then turned around, seeing Yuna. "Oh, sorry...I didn't know," said Karin. "That's alright," said Yuna. Bartz comes in and goes to Boko. Boko was happy that Bartz was alright and actually knocks him down and peppers him with light pecks.

"Boko! Oh, gezz...Boko!" said Bartz, "He does this when I'm gone for a long while." Karin giggles to herself, then went to the chicks right next to Tidus.

"Hey, little guys...How are ya doing? How are ya doing?" Karin said, like talking to a child. The chicks gathered to her and fluttered all their feathers and flapping their wings, giving affection to Karin. After a few minutes, Tidus gets up and walks to the main floor, exercising his legs and in the process meeting the new people on their side against Chaos, who he already knew.

"Hey...You guys made it!" said Tidus. "We did..Gesh, what happened to you?" asked Laguna, approaching Tidus.

"Got sick..Food poisoning.." Tidus explained. "That's not good," said Vivi. Karin takes the final ingredient to the Onion Knight. "Here ya go..The last one.." said Karin.

"At long last..Lets put them together..." said the Onion Knight. He puts each of the ingredients together, and as instructed and told earlier by Cosmos while the others were away, he puts the blood sample of Sephiroth into the mix. He stirs it carefully with the rare tool discovered, and after its all completed, the fusion forms a pure-light liquid that the Onion Knight recognized.

"Oh, my...Its White Materia..I don't believe it. The antidote for Geo-Stigma this whole time is White Materia.." awed the youth. "Cloud! Come here!" cried Karin. Cloud rushes to the scene. "Cloud, the antidote is White Materia..Can't you believe it?" asked Karin. Cloud stood silent, then said, "This whole time...It was White Materia..." The Onion Knight prepares a syringe filled with the perfect amount of White Materia and prepares to give it to Cloud, helping him to rid of Geo-Stigma that plagued him for so long. Karin lifts up the only sleeve of his robe-like jacket\shirt, revealing the rash of Geo-Stigma on his right arm with a red tie-like rope around his upper forearm.

"Oh, gezz...I guess your used to hiding it.." said Karin. "I know...Its not infectious, nor contagious...You'll be safe," answered Cloud. The youth then sticks the needle in his upper arm, injecting the White Materia into his bloodstream.

"Okay..We'll have to wait to see if it takes effect..." said the Onion Knight. After a few minutes, the Onion Knight checks to see if the rash of Geo-Stigma has dinnimished. As he did, the rash was fading, disappearing. It finally disappears, leaving no trace behind.

"Geo-Stigma...Is gone...I'm cured..." said Cloud. "It worked...You have to get that to the CDC...They might need it," said Karin.

"Get me there...Now, while I prepare it," said the Onion Knight. Without them not knowing, Terra was outside the door, smiling. She was glad that he was able to help the people from Geo-Stigma. A few days have gone by, everyone is preparing for the final battle and the cure was distributed to the public, now free from the disease.

"At last...Everyone is cured...Now what?" asked Karin. "Now we need to help Tidus...Til Cosmos is ready to open the gateway back...We have to help Tidus...And spend as much time left here before the final battle," said the Onion Knight.

"Alright...Let's do this.." said Karin. They then get to work on clues to Tidus's abilities, researching as best as they could about new facts.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Final Days to Confrontation\ Revelations at Zanarkand

**'The saints prepare for the ultimate final confrontation against the devils, in a realm of all things the saints cherished most. Time is drawing ever closer...'**

**'One of the saints doesn't know what or who they originally are, not knowing that he is a deity, armed with immortality. Can his love except this, or will he be driven to madness and sorrow of dreams...'**

A few more days pass. As the group researches on clues to help Tidus, everyone has taken as much time needed til the final battle. Tidus has recovered as well, free from the food poisoning that crippled him, but not his spirits, thanks to rest and Koko's delcious soup. Wakka then walks to the Onion Knight's room with a book in his arm, the book he showed Tidus and Yuna.

"Hey...Are you still searching for any clues about Tidus's new abilities?" asked Wakka. "Yes..Why?" said the Onion Knight.

"I think you should look in here..Tidus said he had a dream that his father was in it, but earlier in the dream, Cosmos was in it..He said that in the dream, he wanted to know about a name called 'Bahamugena'...This should light somethings, ya," answered Wakka. The Onion Knight looks up the name as Wakka instructed and read it. After he was finished, a theory began to form.

"This deity's abilities...Match that of what Tidus has...You don't think..?" asked Wakka. "I have a theory...Its that Tidus could be...No..This can't be...But til more facts come in, we can't back it up, but thanks though, at least we got something so far. Let's not tell Tidus this, it could really upset him. Let's just keep it under wraps til more facts come in, okay," said the Onion Knight.

"Okay...But he knows empathy..." said Wakka. "Good point...Let's hope he doesn't find out. Keep your mouth shut on this, okay, Wakka?" said the Onion Knight.

"Gotcha...I'll do my best," said Wakka. He leaves the room, leaving the book with the youth. Cecil approaches Karin, then said, "Karin...Maybe before the final battle...You and Firion could do something to spend time together."

"Dad..." said Karin. "Sweetie...This could be the final time you two are together. You should spend the amount of time left together as if it was going to be the final days of your life...It could be..." said Cecil. Karin knew he was right, but what should they do to pass the time they have left together? Firion approaches the scene, then said, "I think I know something." In Lorena's room that she shares with Bartz, Lorena thinks about the whole senerio unfolding.

"Hey.." Bartz said, entering the room. "Hey...Since this could be the last time together..I was thinking..." Lorena said, trying to start a conversation. Bartz understood, "I agree...It could be the last time together...I was thinking maybe we should go somewhere to eat..Like during dinner time...Is that okay, or..."

"That's alright...I was thinking the exact same thing. I also want to learn how to ride a Chocobo," said Lorena. "Want me to show you now?" asked Bartz. Lorena was alittle stunned, but she found the strength to nod, know it was the right thing to do.

"Oh! Boko wanted to give you something..Here," said Bartz. He hands her a yellow feather from Boko, identical to the one Bartz has as a good luck charm. "You could use all the luck you can get," said Bartz.

"Did this feather fall off, or did Boko pull it off?" asked Lorena. Before Bartz could answer her, Boko comes in. He chirps a sentence and Bartz translates for her, "Boko said 'Koko was grooming me, then that feather fell off. I was thinking about you so I told Bartz to give it to you.' That's what Boko said."

"Aw, that's sweet of you, Boko. Your such a sweet Chocobo," said Lorena, petting Boko. Boko cooed. At the back of the hideout, Bartz prepares Lorena on riding a Chocobo. "Easy, Boko.." said Bartz. Boko stood still for Lorena, but before she got on Boko's saddle, Koko gallops to the scene.

"What's wrong, Koko?" asked Lorena. Koko chirps. "Koko wants you to ride her, not Boko...I don't know, Koko.." said Bartz. Koko insisted, and then went to Lorena, nuzzling her. "Let me try to ride Koko..I think its a woman thing.." said Lorena.

"I don't ride Koko..Lets just say its a gender thing. This is a very first time she had a saddle on her back. Don't be scared, Koko," said Bartz. He straps the saddle on, and in amazement, she remains unphased.

"She still might be scared. No one has riden her before...Ready?" Bartz asked. Koko gave a chirp, then Lorena nodded. She approaches Koko with caution, and carefully got onto the saddle slowly, so Koko could get used to her on the saddle. Koko remained still, unphased at all that was going on.

"Oh, my..Its like riding a horse...Alright Koko?" Lorena asked. Koko gave a chirp and turned her head to Lorena and gave her a light peck of affection. Lorena watches Bartz mount Boko, then he rode to her. "There we go...Ready?" asked Bartz. Lorena nodded and said to Koko, "Ready?" Koko chirped and began to move, walking side by side with Boko as Lorena held onto the saddle. This was a new expirence for Lorena and she was enjoying it.

"Isn't this new for you, Koko?" asked Lorena. Koko nodded in response and got closer to Boko. Koko chirped something to Boko, then Boko nodded in agreement. As the four were close enough, Koko leaned to Boko, causing Lorena to lean into Bartz.

"Gahh! Koko...You were up to something, huh?" said Lorena. She remembered something like this, it was from a dream she had with Bartz in it. This was like from that scene in the dream and it was becoming reality, as if her dreams were telling her of her future. A future with an adventurer. Bartz turned to Lorena, "Does this look familiar?"

"It does..." said Lorena. Back in Tidus's room, Tidus plays with the chicks as Koko was with Boko, Bartz, and Lorena. "You look so cute when you pout...It looks so precious.." said Tidus. The chicks fluttered their feathers and played with his necklace, like a toy.

"Hey...Hey...That's mine.." Tidus played around. Driving down the road in her SUV, Karin and Firion head somewhere to eat, spending the last days together as posibble.

"Where do you want to go?" Karin asked. "How about there? Is that alright?" asked Firion. "That looks good..Let's eat," answered Karin, driving to a nearby resturant that Firion pointed out. As the two got into the parking lot and got out of the car, they noticed familiar people heading to the resturant. Karin saw Squall and Riona walking to the building, Cloud and Tifa on Fenir, the Onion Knight and Terra by foot, Lorena and Bartz on Chocobos, Garnet and Zidane by foot as well, and lastly Tidus and Yuna by foot.

"Oh, gezz..Squall!" Firion called out. Squall turned to Firion, then said as he covered his face, "Oh, no...You don't see me.." The others looked to them and the Onion Knight was blushing lobster red all over, 'Oh, gesh...' he thought. Everyone got in and found their seats and both Karin and Firion shared a place with Bartz and Lorena. Unfortunately, Boko and Koko had to be outside, but this didn't spoil the night between the two Chocobos. Boko brought out two plates of Gysahl greens and silverware, one for him, one for Koko. Koko cooes in affection. Boko also brings out a box of Capri Sun pouches, and opens two; one for him and one for Koko. Inside, the group recieved their meal and ate.

"This is good...Not bad," said Cloud. "Are you better now without that..Oh, I can't say it in front of these people..-" "I know what you mean...I feel lighter now...Without it.." answered Cloud, understanding what Tifa was talking about.

"I just hope they cooked this alright...I don't want to get sick again.." whispered Tidus. "Don't worry so much, Tidus. Its okay..." answered Yuna, taking a bite of her food. Tidus does the same thing, then said, "This is good...Delicious." Firion takes a bite of his food, then turns to Karin, "Was this a good idea? I hope it is..."

"Don't worry...It was a good idea," answered Karin, "Don't worry..." Firion nodded. Zidane tried to figure out how to eat a lobster dinner he ordered alongside Garnet, all he was doing was stabbing it with a fork.

"That's not how you eat a lobster...Here, like this.." said Garnet. She showed him how to 'properly' eat a lobster and as soon as Zidane figured it out, he began eatting it. "Mmmm...This is good.." said Zidane. Outside the resturant, Boko and Koko ate the Gysahl greens together, sipping on the juice of the Capri Sun pouches they drunk. Koko cooed, then gave Boko a light peck on the side of his beak, like a kiss. Boko cooed and returned the light peck back to Koko. Inside, the Onion Knight tried to get the ketchup bottle open for both their steaks they ordered. The youth tries hard.

"Need some help?" asked Terra. "Let me try again.." said the Onion Knight. He tries one more time and finally opens it, but the ketchup squirts out, landing on his face. Terra begins to giggle, but tries not to laugh at him.

"I hate ketchup bottles now...Guh..." groaned the Onion Knight. Terra giggled, then got a napkin and gave it to him. The youth acknowledged this and retrieved it, wiping the ketchup from his face. "I so hate ketchup bottles..." said the Onion Knight. Squall takes a bite of his food, then turns to Riona, "Is this a good place?"

"It is, Squall..." Riona answers. "I'm glad that I get to see you again..." Squall blushes lightly, but doesn't show it. "Oh, I know you were blushing..I saw it," said Riona, noticing the blush. Everyone inside the resturant, and outside were enjoying a beautiful night they had together before the final battle. Unknownst to the warriors of Cosmos, the enemy was preparing as well, as one of them is about to undergo a 'Jenova' transformation.

Back in the abandoned church, the warriors of Chaos prepare for the final confrontation. Garland trains himself with Exdeath, while in the background, Golbez levitates, cleansing one's self of doubts to victory. Kadaj and Yazoo take a still weakened Vivian to a room, preparing to make her 'like' Sephiroth. No pain, no emotions, just as she demanded, sacrificing her human self in the process. Kuja awaited for them, helping her onto the table where and tubes connected to containers of Jenova Cells were above her.

"Are you sure about this...You don't have to do this..One this happeneds, you can't go back.." warned Kuja. Sephiroth arrives to the scene, "Once the transformation is complete..It is irreversabale. Are you sure you want to do this?" Vivian's answer was clear.

"I will tell all of you...These human emotions mean nothing to me. Sure I have many things..But most of all..I wanted to find a specific person to share my dreams with..I know you can't except these dreams and emotions, Sephiroth, but hear me out. I want to become like you..That together, we can destroy those that made you like this, take revenge for what they did and return them to the planet..Just as Jenova wanted..." Vivian said, "I want to help you...Help you get rid of those that stand in your way...Because...Because..." Vivian then turns to Sephiroth, then said, "Because...I love you...I want to take away all your pain...All your sadness...From all those people that did this to you...You never deserved this, and I want to take it all away, even if I have to kill all of them..For you, One Winged Angel." Sephiroth listens, and streams of tears began to fall from his aqua green eyes.

"I never knew...Someone out there would feel sorry for me...Its all 'Get him..' and 'You just don't get it..' from Cloud...I never knew..." said Sephiroth. He then leans to Vivian and gently embraces her, covering both of them with his only black feathered wing. Kuja tried to hold back his tears, but it proved unsuccessful. Underneath Sephiroth's wing, the two gave a quick passionate kiss, then prepared for the irreversible transformation.

"Are you sure? Once its complete, there's no way going back," said Sephiroth. "I am sure...This is my destiny...With you. Together...We can corrode this planet and make it our vessel, just as Jenova did, long ago...I'm not scared. I am ready now," said Vivian. Sephiroth sensed she was ready and showed no fear. A few hours go by to the early hours of the morning, the process of converging was underway. With tubes and in her body pumping Jenova Cells into her, Vivian was in a type of comatose state with Sephiroth still by her side. Garland arrives in the room along with Ultimecia and the Emperor.

"How is the conversion? How much longer til its complete?" asked Mateus. "Few more hours...Four more hours to go," said Sephiroth.

"She will make an excellent soldier for Chaos. She takes things very seriously and an extreme sense of discipline for failure. The God of Discord will like her in his forces," said Garland. Sephiroth nods in agreement. Five more gruelling hours go by, the wait is ever gruelling for Sephiroth, Kuja, and the Reminants. As the day dragged on, Sephiroth sings something in a foriegn language, in Latin. As he sang, Vivian underneath the sheet, covered bed area began to groan, moving underneath her covers. Even though the and tubes were removed, Vivian was still in pain. Kuja was the first to respond.

"Vivian?..Are you waking up?" asked Kuja. Sephiroth and his followers stop what they were doing and rush to the scene. Kuja checks on her and notices a new feature on his daughter: A familiar, black feathered wing. Instead on the left shoulder area like Sephiroth, it was on the right shoulder area. Sephiroth goes to Vivian.

"Vivian..Are you with us?" asked Sephiroth. Vivian shifts in her bed, reacting to Sephiroth's voice. Sephiroth had to check on one more thing.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" asked Sephiroth. Vivian's eyes began to flutter, then began to open. One key feature that the One Winged Angel was looking for was the eye features he has. Her eyes were identical to Sephiroth's, thus concluding his observations. A second test is if she can heal herself like Sephiroth. Sephiroth then retrieves a knife and said, "Let's see if you can heal yourself...Like me." Vivian nodded, then took the knife and cutted a long line down her bare arm, blood dripped from the wound. After a few seconds, the wound mended on its own.

"Excellent...It is complete. You are done," said Sephiroth. Vivian, now as cold as Sephiroth, said, "Now...My One Winged Angel...We will ravish this planet...And find a new world to ravish, by Jenova's command.."

"We will...And destroy those those that stand in our way...Including Cloud and his friends..." answered Sephiroth. Vivian then chuckled a wicked laugh, then said, "Yes...And soon...Her..." Kuja, Yazoo, Kadaj, and Loz begin to leave the room, leaving the two alone for a bit. Sephiroth also lets out a wicked chuckle, then leans into her, both each covering themselves with their wing.

A few more days pass and everyone enjoyed the last remaining days preparing and enjoying each others company. Karin sits in the yard in the back of the hideout with Firion, watching Lorena ride Koko alongside Boko and Bartz. As well as grooming the chicks, making them beautiful in someway. As they watched the scene, the Warrior of Light walks to the group with news.

"Cosmos is ready...We are now about to enter the final battlefield, but she has first directed us to the Zanarkand Ruins. She knows what is plagueing Tidus and knows the answer. We must go to the Ruins of Zanarkand," said the knight. Karin was determined, but scared. Lorena heard this.

"No..I can't.." Karin gasped. Firion held her in his arms, then said, "Even if your mother is not here with us. She still watches you, in spirit. When she first found out you was going to be involved in this, she dreaded it, but spended as much time with you til the time came. Its destiny." Karin turned to Firion.

"She's watching us right now...She would be very proud that you helped us win. We can do this together...Not alone, but together as one..Don't be scared, Karin...We can do this," Firion continued. Karin hugged him, then turned to the Warrior of Light, "When do we go to Zanarkand?"

"Now..The gateway is opened," answered the Warrior of Light. Everyone got ready to go through the gateway, but before they did, they cleared all their things out of the hideout; as if making their presence disappear completely. They enter the portal, entering a realm with ruined buildings, pillars, water, and highlighted signs on the buildings in Spirian texts. Pyre-Flies hovered the terrain.

"We're at Ruins," said Kimahri. Karin looks around, taking the watery scenery in. "This is the ruins of Zanarkand...Once home to Tidus and Jecht, before Sin came and destroyed it," said Auron. Tidus takes in the view, then said, "Somehow..I'm home.." Everyone searched the ruins, til they heard a voice in the distance, singing something in a foreign language.

"Who's that?" asked Lorena. The Chocobos backed to Bartz in panic. "Its okay, guys...Its not anything scary," said Bartz. Tidus was the only one that recognized that voice.

"Dad?" he said outloud. Tidus dashes off into the ruins, following the source of the singing. Everyone else quickly follows. Laguna and Wakka quickly dash up the steps to the next level, but Laguna loses his footing on the slippery steps, but Barret grabs him just in time. "Watch your step! Cid almost wiped out as well, too!" Barret said.

"Shut up! I lost my footing, get off my back!" cried Cid. Yuna was in front of the group. "Tidus!" she called out. She arrives first, spotting the source of the singing: Jecht, sitting in front of two statues singing the Hynm of Fayth, or 'Song of Prayer'. As everyone closed in, Jecht finishes. He gets up and turns to the group, slamming his sword into the ground.

"Jecht!" shouted Karin. Tidus was the first to speak, "No..He's not here to fight us..Chaos sent him here alone..Just like what we're doing here, too...But Cosmos sent us." Karin was not stupid, but something wasn't adding up.

"What are you doing here?" asked Karin. "The same you guys are here...Help Tidus find clues to his origins. I'm here alone doing that as well.." answered Jecht, "Tidus..Does this look familiar?"

"Yeah, from my dream...The statues of Bahamugena and Sin...Yards apart, but still in one location," answered Tidus. Everyone looked at the statues. Karin took out her Cell Phone and took camera pictures of the statues. They approach an ancient ruin in Zanarkand, and as soon as they approached the wall, Cosmos was waiting for them.

"Cosmos...What are you doing here?" asked Karin. The goddess turns to the group, then said, "Jecht...Tidus...Come here." The two blitzers look at one another, then did as Cosmos instructed. They approach the stone wall, then Cosmos said, "Your history is vast. From the dawn of man..Two deities were born: Bahamugena and Sin. They were polar opposites to one another. Sin destroys cities and thrives to battle, a constant battler that loves the thrills of battles, while Bahamugena is the opposite, kind hearted, gentle, and forgiving, but when the trust is betrayed; the deity will show no mercy to those that fail to overcome their sins of anguish."

Cosmos continues, "Even though these two entities fight constantly, but find ways to corrispond with one another. Bahamugena is an Aeon\Sin hybrid deity that can hold itself well in battle. Bahamugena is immortal, and cannot die. However, if it does die, it will come back, stronger than before after each death. Sin cannot die as well and there is no way to destroy Sin." Cosmos turns to Jecht, then said, "Jecht...Even though you believed you was human, but you never were..You...Are Sin.." Everyone gasped, but Jecht was confused.

"Are you serious? I'm Sin?" asked Jecht. Cosmos directed him to a plate of stone with two pictures on it. "You are the chosen human form of Sin..Sin formed a human guise that matched its personality...You were the result, you are Sin," said Cosmos. Jecht looked at the pictures carefully, then said, "Oh, boy...I guess your serious..Hmm.."

"Tidus...Your abilities are awakening slowly, but now you have all the abilites that Bahamugena has. Healing, empathy; and now you have telekenisis, immortality, forsight into the future, phasing like a ghost, and levitation...Tidus...You are Bahamugena," said Cosmos. Tidus was shocked, but then said, "No...No I'm not..No...-" "Kid..She's telling the truth...Look," said Jecht. He then show Tidus the wall picture below Sin and it shows a picture of Bahamugena; then right next to it was a picture of the deity's human form it chose. It was Tidus. Tidus and everyone else was in shock, but the test of true love was about to be put to the test.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Tidus Re-Discovered\ Enter Bahamugena, Aeon\Sin Deity and Sin, Destroyer of Spira

**'What will the blitzer overcome to first? Madness, sorrow, or insanity of remorse. The true test of love has come at last, will his love except his new form, or will their hearts be broken...'**

**'More powerful to the human spirit, two deities are revealed in the realm of Spira. A destroyer, a saviour...It matters not, but will they truly co-exist?...'**

Tidus stares at the picture, then said, "Oh, my god...I'm a..I'm a..." He then turns to Yuna, who was right next to him the whole time.

"I'm a monster...No..." Tidus withdrew from the scene, saddened by the new resolution. He is 'Bahamugena', he is a Aeon\Sin hybrid deity in human guise. "Tidus...Please don't do this...Tidus.." said Yuna. "Kid..." said Jecht, trying to stop Tidus. Tears began to stream down his face, and the whole ruin began to get wet from the rain.

"Tidus..Its like I told you, it doesn't matter who you are or what you are...I still love you, no matter what happens," said Yuna, approaching Tidus backing up from the group. "How can anyone love a monster! You deserve much better than this. I love you, Yuna, make no mistake...But how can you love the true me that looks like a big, humanoid monster with six arms and wings?" said a saddened Tidus.

"Tidus.." said Yuna. "No...'Tidus' isn't my name...Its 'Bahamugena'...And that's how it'll always be.." Tidus stuttered out, then ran away from the scene, towards the familiar area of the stone sword, just like from his dream. Yuna fell to her knees, she tried so hard to help him, but now the true test has finally come, will she stay, or will she leave?

"Hey..Get up..Now's not the time to cry..Come on," said Jecht, picking Yuna up. Yuna got up, then Jecht spoke to her, "I can sense my son's emotions by empathy...He really loves you. He just wants the best for you. He's afraid that if you saw his real form, he'll believe you won't love him anymore..If you really love my son that much...Go after him." Yuna looked towards Jecht, then her decision was made. Yuna runs after Tidus, hoping she gets through to him for good. Everyone wanted to follow, but Karin yells out, "Nobody follows!" Everyone stops and looks at Karin.

"This is the test of love between those two..Leave them alone for now...This is between Tidus and Yuna," said Karin. The rains continue to poor on the ruins as Yuna made her way to her love, Tidus. She approaches the scene, spotting Tidus sitting in front of the sword statue, crying. She quietly walks to him, but he senses her presence and looks up.

"Why did you follow? I'm a monster to you...You deserve much better then this...Why?" asked Tidus. Yuna approaches him, then gave him her answer.

"Because I love you, Tidus..Or Bahamugena, it doesn't matter...Your still you. It doesn't matter what the real you looks like, I will always be here for you, Tidus," said Yuna. Tidus read Yuna's mind and found out she was not lying. This started to cheer him up and the rain began to lessen.

"Yuna..." Tidus said, now crying happy tears instead of sad tears. Tidus begins to stand up and face Yuna, then the both hugged in an embrace; then was followed by a quick, passionate kiss. After a few days at Zanarkand, Tidus returns.

"I made sure no one else followed Yuna..It was between you and Yuna," Karin said to Tidus. "Wait..Where's my dad? He was here?" wondered Tidus. Everyone looked around the area for Jecht, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Probably went back to Chaos's group..Maybe-" Before Lorena finished, a rumble was felt above them from the ruin building's roof, as if it from a monster or creature of a big size. debris of small dusts fell from the ceiling. "What the?" wondered Squall. The group walks out of the ruin and looks up, spotting a creature on top of creature had six arms, the upper set held onto two extra swords, but not to attack. It had two sets of insect wings and a middle set of bat-like webbed wings, chained wrists, ankles, and neck, A type of fin was near the tip of its tail, more thorny, spike-like hair that mimicked the length and style of Jecht's or Vincent's. It wore a front loincloth that mimicked that of Chaos, the God of Discord. A 'T' based symbol was shown on the loincloth, but also tattooed on its torso, just like Jecht.

"Oh, gesh...What is that? Is that Sin?" asked Karin as everyone backed away. Tidus stood still. 'Dad..So that's what you really look like..' thought Tidus. The creature had a metal plating over its mouth, but the plate splitted and revealed its mouth, thus hearing its voice for the first time.

"Kid..." it said to Tidus, "Recognize me yet?" Tidus nodded, "Yeah...I know its you, dad..." Cecil was shocked.

"What? That's...Jecht?" wondered Lulu. Sin, as the creature appeared as, levitates to Tidus, then said, "You must do a ritual to achieve the ability to transform to your true form..This way.." Sin lead the way, flying to a temple of Yevon of where the ritual took place.

"I..I'm scared..I don't want to..." said Tidus, but Yuna grabbed his left arm. then said, "This could help against Chaos..Maybe this is what is supposed to happen..Don't be scared..I'm right here.." Tidus was still scared, but went with the group. Boko and Bartz rode all the way with the group to the Yevon temple in Zanarkand. As they approached the doorway, the creature, named 'Sin' lands and in an instant changed form, revealing Jecht.

"You guys made it..That's good..." said Jecht. As both Yuna and Tidus was about to enter first with the group, Jecht stopped them, "No...He has to do this alone..That's how it works.." Tidus begins to panic, "What? I can't do this alone..Dad..." Jecht knew Tidus would panic, so he come up with a plan of motivation, starting with a smirk.

"So your saying your weak? Come on, Tidus..I thought you wanted to be as great as me..." Jecht said. This got Tidus fuming, "Of course I want to be as strong as you!..I'll show you.." Tidus walks into the temple alone, hoping to come out for Yuna's sake. "That worked just as I thought it would..." said Jecht. Tidus walks down the corridor of the temple to the elevator-like chamber, but soon became afraid as the walls of stone blocked all passageways around him, making sure Tidus didn't get out.

'Yuna! No..I gotta do this...For everyone...' thought Tidus, composing himself. The elevator markings began to glow blue, then began to move down to the lower levels of the temple, where the ritual of self recovery was going to take place. The elevator continued down til it finally reached its destination, at the lower levels of the sanctum. Tidus slowly walks into the room, seeing that the floor was marked with Yevon symbols. The walls are also marked with Yevon symbols, but only corresponding of the Aeons of Yore: Ixion, Bahamut, Shiva, Yojimbo, the Magnus Sisters, Ifrit, and Valfor, and lastly Yu Yevon, also the entity of Sin.

'You have come back...All powerful one..' a voice said. Tidus, standing in the center of the platform looked to where the voice came from. In spirit, a type of unicorn strads to the scene. It spoke yet again, 'You have come back to reclaim what you have lost...Bahamugena...' Tidus recognized the Aeon, it was Ixion, the Lightning Unicorn. After a few minutes pass, the spirits of other Aeons appear, like the dragon, Bahamut, to the ice empress, Shiva. Tidus stood still for a minute, then asked, "Do I have other abilities other then the ones Cosmos mentioned? Telepathy and what else?"

Ifrit, the canine deity of fire, spoke, 'You can morph into us...Use our powers as your own...The ritual shall begin..We will all be one, into your body to morph..Let it begin..' The markings on the wall began to glow blue, bright blue. The floor's outer and middle ring that also glowed in bright blue began to spin in a fast motion, except the middle ring where Tidus stood. The spirits then rush towards Tidus and flows through his body, as if infusing themselves little by little. Tidus thought he couldn't take no more of this, Yu Yevon speaks to him to calm him.

'Don't be afraid...It may be alittle painful, but consider it as a test of manhood..For your father...' Yu Yevon spoke, "You want to be as strong as he...This is the test to show him how tough you are...All of us started with you, Bahamugena, and it will also end with you..We will be one again...Like in the beginning...' Tidus fought the pain as the rings around him began to spin faster and faster. The spirits continued to phase through Tidus's body, til they all at once went inside him, beginning to alter his appearance to transform him to his real identity: Bahamugena, the Deity of Zanarkand. With one scream, the whole room glowed with a brightest shade of blue, triggering the transformation.

"I hope Tidus is alright...I have to worry," said Yuna. A Chocobo chick wonders to Jecht, then gave him a light peck on his bare right foot.

"Hey...What are you doing?..Being cute, huh?" said Jecht. The chick stood there, then waddled off. "Aw...That was precious.." Jecht said, but then heard the elevator inside coming back up. Yuna perked up and wanted to rush in, but she stood her ground. Heavy footsteps were then heard coming to the doorway.

"Who's coming? Or what's coming?" asked the Onion Knight. As the footsteps got closer, the identity of what was coming was revealed outside the temple. "Whoa...Some form, kid.." said Jecht. The creature before them had the same features as Sin, but there was key differences that splitted it and Sin apart. One: It had two pairs of bat-like, webbed wings and a set of avian, or angelic wings in the middle. Two: Its skin was a dull, bright blue, not a dull, blackish red, and no tattoo on its torso. Three: It eyes were glowing blue, not red, and four: It had lesser spikier, hair-like thorns then Sin. Yuna walked forward to it.

"Tidus? Is this what you really look like?" she asked. The creature's mouth plate splitted apart, revealing its mouth. It was taller than Yuna, so it knelt down to her level. "Of course its me...Did you think I forgot?" it said. Yuna knew it was Tidus, but in this form he was something else: a deity. She gives him a hug and Bahamugena\Tidus returned it back, with all six arms.

"Oh, my god..Tidus?" said Reno out loud. Vincent then drops his gun and stares. He then reaches into his cloak and pulls out a small bottle and looks at it then tosses it off the ledge. "I'm done drinking.." said Vincent so no one heard him. A chick waddles to the deity and begins to lightly peck at its right foot and then played with its tail that had spike-like spines running up it and back to its neck. The deity looks to the Chocobo and smiles.

"Your not afraid of me like this? You still know its me, huh?" said Bahamugena\Tidus. The chick chirped, then fluttered its feathers. He then bends down to pick up the chick and cradles it in all six arms, holding it carefully. The chick liked that and cooed. Koko and Boko move to the deity and so did the other chicks, fluttering all their feathers and giving the deity all the Chocobo love anyone can get.

"That is cool...Like from mythology.." said Lorena. "Bahamugena is from mythology, but from Spira. According to legend, Bahamugena was the ultimate Aeon in defense and offense; despite being half Sin. All the other Aeons came from it, including Yu Yevon. It started with it, it'll end with it.." Auron explained, "Also, Bahamugena can also resurrect the dead." This perked Karin up, "Resurrect the dead?". Karin then turned to the deity, but it changed back to Tidus.

"Tidus...Can you resurrect the dead?" asked Karin. Tidus looks at her and answered, "Yes...I already know why you asked me..You want me to bring your mother back..I don't know, I don't think its a good idea. Being a deity, there are grand designs and rules to follow, and this could disrupt it. I'm sorry, but I can't take that risk. Please find a way to understand," answered Tidus. Karin thought, then understood, all deities and divine entities all have rules to follow. She knew in her heart that it would be best to not play with the dead.

"Hey, Jecht's gone again...Where'd he go?" wondered Cid. Tidus already had an answer, "He went back to Chaos's group...Let me fight him in the final round..I want to prove how strong I got to him. I promised I would in my dream."

"We should be going there, too...Lets go!" said Reno. "Wait up!" cried Rude. Zidane and his group followed behind, along with others. The final battle is about to start, and Karin was getting anxious. Cecil walks towards Karin and quells her anxiety.

"Don't worry...Our light will guide us to victory...We will make it," said Cecil. Karin nodded in agreement. The final battle was drawing ever closer.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Final Confrontation: Cosmos Vs. Chaos

**'The Battle of all battles has finally arrive, good versus evil, light versus dark..It is coming together, but is this the end of all? More shall be revealed...'**

The final battle has come. Karin became nervous as the hour of the eve of battle fast approaches. Cecil retrieves armor from out of a crate he carried with him from Baron, the armor just like his dark knight armor that will be worn by Karin. Steiner opens a crate he carried with him from Lindblum under Zidane's and Garnet's request for Lorena, retrieving the same style armor as his for her to wear in battle. Karin began to quiver, as if scared to enter the field of battle.

"I..I can't do this..This is too big for me..I can't even..-" "Shhhh...Your worrying too much...I am nervous, as well, but we have to. Cosmos's light will guide us all the way to the end, and protect us from the darkness.." Cecil interrupted Karin, calming her as best as he can, "She would be very proud in spirit...I bet she's watching right now..." Cecil looks up to the sky, then back to Karin.

"I don't wanna screw this up for you guys..This battle is very important to you guys," answered Karin. "You won't, that I know for sure. Here...You need this armor, put it on," said Cecil. Lorena expressed her fears to Zidane as both Amarant and Vivi started putting the knight armor on her.

"I'm nervous, too...I haven't been in something like this, but I don't know if the Gaia and Terra incident counts.." said Garnet. Bartz arrives to the scene, "Don't be scared, I'm here, Zidane's here, we'll look after one another in battle. Boko is going to stay with Koko and the little chicks, just to make sure they're safe."

"I brought it with me..The feather Boko gave me..I bet good luck will help us, too..Right?" said Lorena, showing Bartz the feather she received from Boko. He in return brought his out as well. As if on signal, Boko grabs the note right next to him with his beak and gives it to one of the elder chicks, instructing it to give it to Lorena. The chick complies and waddles its way to Lorena with the note in its beak. As soon as the armor is all on, the chick begins to mufflely chirp, trying to get Lorena's attention.

"Huh? What's this?" Lorena askes, lowering to the chick. The chick showed Lorena the note. She retrieves it from the chick and opened the folded paper to read it. After a few minutes of reading the note, she in shock looks at Bartz. The shock was soon replaced with happiness and she hugged him, hoping not to let go of him.

"What? What was on there?" asked Vivi. Zidane turns to the black mage and whispers the answer to him. "Oh.." answered Vivi. Koko high fives Boko on a job well done as the elder chick returned from its task. Karin arrives to the scene, just after she gets her armor on.

"What's going on?" asked Karin. Lorena shows Karin the note and it all became clear. "Oh, Lorena...Oh, that's good!" the two girls hugged in joy. Firion arrives to the chicks and both their parents. "I need to borrow this chick for a bit..I'll bring it back, don't worry," said Firion. He gives a note to the chick, causing it to grab it with its beak. Firion instructs the chick to give it to Karin and it began its task by hurry waddling to Karin. Bartz was the first to notice the chick coming their way.

"Hey...What's that chick got?" Bartz said as the chick got closer to the group. It gives a muffled chirp, trying to get Karin's attention. "Hey, what do we have here? Thank you, little one.." said Karin, petting the chick. It gave a happy chirp and fluffed it feathers, returning back to its parents as Karin read the note. As a few minutes went by, Karin finishes reading the note and she turns to Firion, who was right behind her while she was reading. Her eyes were wide open in shock, then as with Lorena, it was soon replaced with happiness and she embraced him in joy, not willing to let go.

"Uh, oh...Same thing like you, Lorena..." said Bartz. "Oh, Karin! I'm so happy for you! Group hug!" said Lorena, hugging both Firion and Karin. Koko and Boko then give each other another high-five for another job well done as the chick came back from its completed task. Tidus stood right next to Yuna, then turned to Rikku as Yuna wasn't paying attention and gives her a thumbs up as a signal. Rikku nods and quietly sneaks behind Yuna. As she gets closer, she brings out somekind of package that was supposed to be for Yuna herself. Rikku puts it into the hood of the former summoner's outfit and flees the scene as quick as she could go.

"Hey..What the? What's in my hood?" wondered Yuna. She pulls out the package and said to Tidus, "Is this from you?"

"Huh...How'd that get there?..What?" said Tidus, acting dumb. Yuna nodded in disbelief. "Oh, Tidus. Probably was from you..." she said, opening the package. She opens it carefully, revealing a silver necklace that is identical to Tidus's, same size, same design, same length.

'Oh, my god..This necklace is the same as Tidus's...Huh?' thought Yuna. She then sees a note in the package. Taking it into her hands, she opens it, finding the note to be in Tidus's handwriting. As she finished reading the note, she was in shock and turned to Tidus, who was right next to her.

"What? Did I win something?" asked Tidus, knowing why she was in shock. Yuna hugs Tidus with such force that the two fell to the ground of water in Cosmos's sanctuary. In the far corner watching the scene, Paine and Rikku each gave each other a high-five, knowing the mission was a success. Terra was kneeling before the Onion Knight til she gave him a big hug, after receiving his message. Riona receives a note from a Chocobo chick and was shocked after reading it, running to Squall and hugging him, refusing to let go for a second. Zidane reaches into his pocket with his tail and retrieves a necklace, which happens to be stolen, due to being a thief.

"Garnet...I have something for you..." said Zidane. Using his tail, he places the necklace around her neck, even if her hair is in the way. "Oh, Zidane...I bet you stole this, didn't you?" she questioned.

"You must know me too well..." answered Zidane. A Chocobo chick with a note Zidane wrote himself in its beak went to Garnet and tried to get her attention. "Oh..What do we have here? Thank you, little one," said Garnet, retrieving the note. Koko was getting groomed by Boko as the chick returned, cleaning all her beautiful feathers of yellow. Garnet finishes reading the letter and then turns to Zidane with a look of shock, then, just like the others, it was replaced with happiness and she hugs Zidane, knocking him off his feet and taking both of them to the ground of water.

"Uh, oh...Yah! Zidane!" cheered Vivi. The others that were with Zidane rush to the scene and cheered. "About time.." said Freya, knowing the relationship between the two very well. From the opposite side of the region, Chaos's troops prepared for the upcoming final battle. Vivian, newly reformed, is now garbed in pure black. Her outfit was alittle similar to Kuja's, but it was also similar to Sephiroth's. Now wearing a short cut tank top of black with a black jacket identical to Kuja's, but in leather black. She also wore a dress bottom with a type of fabric draping in front of it like a front and back loincloth over a dress and black, heeled boots.

"Our time as come...We will not fail again, but the whole thing will repeat if we do, so we have plenty of time.." said Vivian, looking across the battlefield ahead. As the others went to the battlefield, Vivian was about to follow, til Kadaj was calling her.

"Vivian! Vivian!" cried Kadaj, "Lord Sephiroth has something to give to you..Here.." What Kadaj had was a pair of silver shoulder guards, identical to Sephiroth's, but fitted for her alone, and a same length kantana, just like his. Vivian also received a note as well, hidden in one of the shoulder guards. She reads it to herself as Sephiroth approaches the scene. Vivian becomes wide eyed in shock, then looks to Sephiroth. Slowly, she walks to him and in a slow movement embraces, covering each other with their own wing. As a few minutes went by, Sephiroth puts the shoulder guards on Vivian's shoulders for her before the battle ahead. The three walks to the group ahead, which were actually waiting for them.

"Waiting for us?" asked Kadaj. "All of us are entering the battlefield together...Not separately," said Garland. "We have strength in numbers...Not in solitude..We fight as one, we die as one," said Golbez, following the others to the battlefield. The goddess, Cosmos kept an eye on the Chocobos, making sure no harm was brought to them in the final battle of the war she waged in for eons against Chaos. From the mountain ranges above, a four armed horned demon with a demonic visage watches from above. Its red-webbed, black rimmed wings were draping over it like a cape. Skull-like ankle guards and belt guard were of a red-orange color, accompanied with a demon-skull like design on its front loincloth. This demon was the God of Discord himself, Chaos.

"At long last...We will settle this once again...For good!" said Chaos, looking at his forces advancing to the battlefield. Deep in a distant world inside a throne room, with pillars with designs of a curled like heart design with crowns on top, a man with a lower fish body watches the battle from a fountain pool of sacred water. Through his blue eyes, there was no emotion shown, but disgust. Another man walks to the scene, garbed in what appears to be a wrap-based front loincloth, purple orbed belt, a black leather strap across his eyes, while the light highlighted his long, silver hair.

"Its starting again..As before...Sora," he said to the merman, named 'Sora'. Sora responds with a grunt, "It always has...But now I have had enough..As soon as that dragon shows up, I will strike at its heart...Finishing the whole repeats once and for all. These fools have sucumbed to the venomous poison of your darkness, Riku...What shall you do?" The man with silver hair, 'Riku', then placed his answer.

"I will send them to infinite darkness...Just with those that suffered before them. They would make excellent additions to my Heartless forces," said Riku. Sora then gave out a hearty chuckle. "Same as always, Riku. Same as always..Oh, the battle is about to begin..Let's see what will unfold before us," said Sora, peering into the water. Both forces met on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"Lets end all this ...Ending...The eternal conflict," said Chaos. Cosmos casted a magic barrier, protecting the Chocobos from the battle. "Here they come..." said Bartz, arming himself with his shape-shifting sword. Karin and Lorena stood side by side, then saw Vivian, but her appearence was more different than before.

"Oh, gezz..It looks like they did something to her.." said Lorena, whispering to Karin. "She's now like Sephiroth...But her only wing is on the right side, not left," answered Karin in a whisper.

"Lets settle this, Kuja!" cried Zidane, activating 'Trance'. "With pleasure.." said Kuja, doing the exact same thing.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud called, "You will die by my blade!" "I like to see you try, Cloud.." said Sephiroth, arming himself with his blade. "Your heart is mine..Karin!" called Vivian.

"I like to see you try! Freak!" cried Karin. "Your head is mine, Seifer!" cried both Squall and Zell. They looked at one another for a second in recognition, then turned to the opposite group. "Prove it!" called Seifer. Jecht arrives to the front of the group, then shouts out, "Tidus!" Tidus acknowledges it.

"Lets settle this! Show me how strong you really are!" Jecht called out, changing to his true form as Sin. Seymour and Shuyin awed in amazement.

"Gladly...Just to let you know...I won't hold back anymore!" answered Tidus, changing form to his true self, Bahamugena. Seymour then turns to the deity and says to Shuyin, "We're dead..." As the battle was about to begin, a small-sized woman in a type of tunic\dress joins the group of Cosmos, armed with a ruby tipped staff. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back with a multi-colored beret and appeared to have long pointed ears and a dark brown nose.

"Mighty deity, Bahamugena...You have regained your lost memories...Welcome back," she said to the deity. Karin then nudges to Lorena, "Hey...Isn't that Shanttoto from Final Fantasy XI?"

"It is..And it looks like the judge magister, Gabranth, just showed up..Look!" Lorena answered, pointing at the upcoming Gabranth, with his weapon in hand. "We must hurry before the wrym appears..Then our punishment will begin..From light and darkness...Lets go, Sin," said Gabranth, looking at Sin. Chaos releases a battle cry, signaling the start of the battle, as well as erupting a magic barrier of his own.

"Go!" cried the Onion Knight. Everyone charged on both sides, weapons ready for combat. Karin and Lorena joined the run to collide with the enemy forces. "I want to go home...Bad!" said Lorena, calling to Karin.

"No! We have to end this!...Now's not the time to chicken out! We have to do this!" answered Karin. Yuna joins the battle with two handguns. Auron was right next to her.

"Auron! Shuyin is all yours!" Yuna called out to the guardian. "Alright, good luck against Seymour.." answered Auron. The two groups collided and the final battle has begun. Karin fought agianst Vivian, blocking each attack Vivian used against her. Cloud against Sephiroth, Onion Knight versus the Cloud of Darkness. Everyone had an opponent, even nemeses. Bahamugena clashed two water-bladed swords into Sin's blades that mimicked the stone one in Zanarkand, slashing and blocking each of their attacks. Yuna stands before Yevon's Maester, prepared to severely hurt him.

"You came back to me..Oh, Yuna.." said Seymour. "Oh, shut up...Besides..I'm already engaged to someone else..And he's a deity, named 'Bahamugena', who also happens to be Tidus. Better luck next time.." Yuna said, then fired at Seymour, but he dodges the bullets.

"Gah!...Curse you, deity!" cried Seymour. Shuyin dodges each of Auron's swings, but gets hit by one of them, only leaving a nick on his right arm."Grrr! Darn it!..Gah..." Shuyin was cut off by Auron's blade to his neck.

"You may look like Tidus..But your not Tidus...I will show you no mercy..." threatened Auron. Lorena assists Karin against Vivian and made a first mark on her across her face.

"Oh, yeah! That felt good.." said Lorena. "She's like Sephiroth...She can heal herself now, look," answered Karin. Vivian began to heal herself, then she made a threat of her own, "All this...All the things you cherish most will be gone...Fade away in a flash. Everything you hold dear will be extinguished like a candle...Your love...Your friends, it will all end, by the grace of Jenova...And so will you..." Karin and Lorena stood there for a second and looked at one another.

"Wow...She really has Sephiroth's personality...Bravo..Nice statement, now go to a circus!" Karin said, actually clapping. Vivian began to become furious, then dashed at them, not knowing she just fell into a trap.

"Anger blinds all..Like you!" said Karin, slashing the blade into Vivian's torso, causing extensive damage. Vivian however began to heal, as predicted. Vivian looks up, anger was the only expression on her face. From the throne room, Sora continues to watch, becoming interested by the minute.

"It seems Bahamugena and Sin are back from amnesia...How wonderful...Don't you want two deities as Heartlesses and Nobodies for us? I bet we'll make good use of them..." said Sora. Riku nods in agreement.

"They would be perfect. It won't be long now...The inevitable is drawing near," answered Riku. The battles escalated to two different levels as the war dragged on. Bahamugena notices something about Chaos.

'The God of Discord is fueling his troops..I must sever the connection...Huh?' the Deity notices Sin rising into the air, charging up a type of hyper beam attack. Telepathically, Jecht communicates to Tidus.

'Kid...You really got strong..I must admit, you are such a fighter...I have one more test for you. We can both do a hyper beam attack, but can you block it to protect Cosmos? I want to know!' said Jecht. With the beam fully charged, Sin fires at Cosmos. Bahamugena flies to the goddess and changes form to the aeon, Shiva. Combining the aeon's power of ice and energy into Cosmos's barrier, the beam hits, but did not pierce through. The hyper beam was unsuccessful.

"Alright, Tidus!" cried Bartz and Zidane. Bahamugena then turns back to its true form, then faced Chaos, giving him a telepathic messege.

'You should be afraid of me...Chaos...I will sever your connection to your troops..And finish this once and for all...For Cosmos!' was Bahamugena's message. Flying into the air, the deity charges up for a hyper beam attack of its own. Seymour rushes to Shuyin, then said, "He's aiming at Chaos! We have to alter the direction!" Shuyin follows the Maester and they both rush to a cliff peak to intercept the deity as the others fought. Shuyin makes a leap at the deity, but instead grabbed his tail. So did Seymour and they hope they were distracting him.

"Keep pulling!" cried Seymour. They then heard Tidus's voice telepathically, 'Hey guys..I don't think that's doing any good...You can't stop me...I'm going to put an end to this battle...Now get off and take a hike!' The deity began to spin around like a cork screw. Faster as he went, both Shuyin and Seymour fly off, but Sin flew in and grabbed them, but they both went flying to the ground. "Gahhh! Team Yevon's falling awayyyyyyyyy!" screamed Seymour. "Darn it!" screamed Shuyin.

'Feel my wrath, Chaos!' Tidus said in telepathy. The beam then fires, aiming at the God of Discord. "Bah...You cannot breech my barrier.." said Chaos. Cosmos smirked, 'Oh, yes he can...Just watch...' The beam hits the barrier and upon impact, the barrier shatters, leaving Chaos panicking. 'What! How?' was all he could think of. The beam then pierces through Chaos's side, mortally wounding him in the process.

"Raaaagghhhh! Cosmos! You knew about this didn't you!" Chaos screamed. Everyone stopped fighting and stares at the scene in shock and suprise. "Whoa...Did you see that!" shouted Vivi, "He nailed Chaos through the barrier! He hurted him really bad!"

"Alright!" cried everyone fightng for Cosmos. "Oh, no!" cried all that fought for Chaos. The God of Discord fell from the mountain top, but landed safely and still alive. "That..Is Chaos. He's ugly, but powerful.." said Karin.

"From what I saw..I don't think he's powerful," said Lorena. Bahamugena lands in front of Chaos, reverting back to Tidus. "Don't you understand? We don't earn anything when we keep fighting...And it goes for everyone," said Tidus, turning to both sides of the previous battle.

"We don't earn anything in battle. Haven't we all learned that fighting doesn't solve anything? This war is pointless and it has no meaning. All we can do is to forgive and move on...Like I did...All my hate and anger is gone, through the friends we all have and self discovery of myself. We can all move on, if you try. This war isn't solving anything...Now is the time to heal, to heal the deep wounds we bear in our souls...We must heal..Or madness will ensue.." Tidus said in a speech that touched everyone's hearts, even those that don't value emotions.

"Where have we gone wrong, Kuja?" asked Zidane. "I..I don't know.." answered Kuja. Golbez strays away from the group, but was stopped by Cecil.

"Brother...Where have we screwed up? I want to know.." asked Cecil. "I sold my soul to darkness..But yet...Oh, Cecil.." answered Golbez. Karin joins in and hugs the knight n heavy armor, "I told you we would save you...I told you, uncle Golbez..." Garland didn't want to except this, but knew it was all true. He turns to the Warrior of Light, then asked, "Am I not allowed back in Cornelia?"

"No..If you did come back..Stay away..." said the Warrior of Light. Firion glares at the Emperor, but turns away, knowing Tidus is right. The battle was over and everyone began to heal, but the worst is yet to come behind their backs.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Shinryu Appears\ Demise of the Wrym

**'The wrym begins its course, preparing to revert everything held dear back to the beginning, before the war...'**

**'Something shrouded in light has killed the great dragon, piercing its heart with one strike. What or who is it? Is this the end?...'**

Everyone began to heal after Tidus's speech, hoping for a better future. Karin rushes to Firion, who caught her in his arms and held her tight, not letting go. Lorena hugs Bartz, while in the background the Chocobos hugged one another and chirped. Tidus looked at both directions, then went to Gabranth.

"You know something..I heard you say something about a punishment. What is it?" asked Tidus, demanding an answer.

"They will come from a world of Darkness and Light...And punish us for our sins...As soon as the Wrym is slain," said Gabranth. "Slain? By who?" asked Tidus. "Tidus! Its coming!" cried Karin. Everyone then turned to the right, then they saw a big dragon in metallic silver and gold gliding towards them. Everyone knew what the dragon was. It was Shinryu, the Wrym.

"Sora...Shinryu has appeared," said Riku, watching through the water before Sora. "Perfect..Now they will suffer greatly," said Sora, "Get the Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII...We're going there.." Shinryu approaches the scene and everyone knew everything was about to be returned back to the beginning.

"No! I don't want to go back to the beginning!" cried Karin, "I don't want to forget everyone...Tidus! Kill Shinryu!"

"I don't think its possible...Shinryu! Go away! We don't want you here!" shouted Tidus. Shinryu then speaks as it first lands near the area.

"Foolish deity...I have always been tasked of this by the Great Will. There is nothing I can do. It doesn't matter if you don't want to fight no more or want to...I will perform my duty and cleanse everything to the very beginning...As I have been doing for countless eons," said Shinryu.

"Then...I will make sure you don't do that..I will try to break you," said Tidus, trying to prevent the cleansing. Jecht joined him, "Your not leaving me out of this..." Shinryu rises to the air.

"You can't possibly defeat me...As I said before, this is my task given to me, and by any means necessary, I will perform this task by the Great will!" As soon as Shinryu finished, a large area of light accompanied by designs around it appeared below the Wrym, as if actting like a portal.

"Look out!" everyone cried out. Before everyones' eyes, a type of sword that looked sorta like a key flew through upward and pierces the Wrym without it noticing, through the heart. After a few seconds, the Wrym explodes into glitter debris and chunks of the armor like scales flew everywhere, raining down on the two parties.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Darkness and Light Arrives\ Enter Sora and Riku, Deities of Kingdom Hearts

**'Hailing from the world of both Dark and Light, they come to permanently stop the cycle. Now pointing the blame on both the saints and the devils...What will the punishment be?...'**

Debris of the Wrym fell like rain, in a kind of glitter-based debris that blew through the remains like vapor. The group uncovered their eyes, and looking at the remains and absorbing what had transpired.

"Oh, my god...What killed Shinryu?..Tidus?" asked Yuna. "Not me...There's no way...It was a one hit kill through the heart..How?" said Tidus in confusion. Chaos became anxious and agitated as he healed. "Reveal yourself! Show us who you are, coward!" roared Chaos. Then, another voice was heard.

"God of Discord...Silence!" the voice said. A very powerful lightning bolt shot through the sky, hitting Chaos and causing more damage to his wound on his side. The God of Discord skidded through the water floor on his back, landing at the feet of Cosmos. "That was Thundaga...It was so powerful, that I don't think Lulu, nor I can get it that high," said Vivi. The design in light began to glow again, but as a few seconds passed, a ray of pure white glided out of the ground like a serpent, revealing the identity of the one that slayed Shinryu and further wounded Chaos. The light faded and revealed a lower fish body of dark navy blue of a dolphin, but the upper half was human with blue eyes and dark brown hair in a sideway-style spikes. Around his neck was a chained necklace with a centerpiece of a crown.

"Know your place..God of Discord," the merman said, "I have been alive since the creation of Light and Darkness..."

"Oh, my...That's a..That's a mermaid!" said Wakka. Everyone turned to Wakka with a 'What the...' look on their face. "Mermaid?" asked Zidane. "I think Wakka meant, 'Merman', not 'Mermaid'," said the Onion Knight, "Wakka..Look at the upper half..Does it look like a woman?"

"Uh...Are you a guy?" Wakka asked the merman. The merman slaps his face in embarrassment, "Am I a guy? Of course I'm a guy..What'd you think I was? A girl?"

"Oh...Thanks!" said Wakka. He then turns to the Onion Knight, "He's a guy..Why?" "Wakka, you could just look, not ask..If he's half fish, half man..He's considered a 'Merman', not 'Mermaid'," said the Onion Knight, "Half woman, half fish is a 'Mermaid', not the other way around."

"Oh...That's a merman!" said Wakka, correcting himself. "Finally you got it right.." another voice said. A darkened abyss-like portal was formed in front of everyone on the ground, revealing a silver haired man garbed in a wrap-based front loincloth in red and black, a purple orbed belt, a black leather strap across his eyes and his upper forearms. A type of heart design with three prongs at the end was shown on his chest in black in red, while a larger design was on his back, with the same colors. The man removed the strap across his eyes, revealing them to be aqua colored.

"Did you finally figure it out?" he asked. Lorena has saw those two characters before from a game she played, then nudged Karin, "Kar...Kar..Remember we played 'Kingdom Hearts II' together?"

"Yeah, why? We beated it.." asked Karin. "Well, guess who those two are...?" whispered Lorena. Karin takes a look and realized who they are, at least their names. In front of Lorena, the silver haired man emerged from the ground in shadows, towering over her in size.

"So you know our names...How precious.." he said. Grabbing Lorena with his lower fish half, the merman brings Lorena to him. "No! Don't hurt me, Sora! Your a hero! Not a bad guy!" cried Lorena. The merman, revealed as Sora, smirks, "So you know who I am...Does she know, too?" Karin knew who Sora was talking about, but the silver haired man grabbed her and sunk the both of them in a darkened portal to Sora's location. They reappear in front of Sora's immense size, and both Karin and Lorena was brought in a tight squeeze, but not tight enough to cut off circulation and respiratory.

"So...Do you know Riku? Or me?..My presence is known, but not seen. For those that don't know who I am..." Sora said, turning to the group. "I am Sora. Deity of Light...Ruler of Kingdom Hearts. This is Riku, Deity of Darkness. He reigns in the realm of darkness that you all so fear. I have seen this war countless times and enough is enough! To cease its repeat, I had to remove the dragon out of the equation," said Sora, still holding Lorena and Karin in his lower fish body.

"You slayed Shinryu?" asked Terra. Tidus tried to see if he could get into Sora's head with empathy, but it was immpossible. Riku suddenly appears before Tidus, scaring him.

"Trying to get into Sora's mind? Not possible. He has the ability to block those that know empathy from learning about him...More abilities you do not possess, Bahamugena..." said Riku.

"Why are you doing here? If you guys belong in Kingdom Hearts, why aren't you back there?" asked Tidus. "We do belong in Kingdom Hearts, but we're not from there...We are from Destiny Island. This is not what I really look like, I am a shape-shifter, just to adapt to the worlds I go to..." said Sora.

"We are here..To punish you of your corruption through darkness. I'm afraid both sides must pay the price..." answered Riku. Everyone gasps. "What! What'd we do to deserve this!" Karin shouted out, still in Sora's grip.

"Look what the endless battles did to your hearts? It is poisoned by Riku's darkness. Even though you all believe your hearts are pure, but it really isn't. All hearts have darkness, the tiniest traces of darkness that will grow in time.." said Sora, drawing nearer to Karin. Karin was puzzled.

"You three...You, Lorena, and Vivian weren't supposed to be here..Nor any of you should be in their world...I had forseen you chosen as the key to aid them in battle, but I also foreseen the sadness and remorse you had to suffer. I altered everything for you, just to make sure your worlds wouldn't mix, but it was all in vain. I did everything in my power to make your life how it should be...But you three got tainted by their poison..." said Sora, expressing remorse for Lorena, Karin, and Vivian. All the good days, the bad days before being found by the warriors of Cosmos, it was all due to Sora, trying to make things better from the heart.

"Sora...I see why now...But things have gotten better for me..I found new friends, someone to spend the rest of my life with, and spending good times together..Plus finding my real father in the process, including Lorena and Vivian...Even though you are good..If you try to take that away, I will fight for it..." said Karin. Sora releases his hold on Karin and Lorena, allowing them to return to the group.

"Poor lost souls..I pity all of you..But I'm afraid you all will never be saved...This is how the worlds all work.." Then Sora turns to Riku, "...Riku..." Riku nods, then said, "I will condemn all of you...In perpetual darkness to never see the light again."


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Punishment of Sins\ Final Resolution

**'Condemed into infinite darkness, all parties suffer for their sins to darkness alone. Will there be a light that will guide them out of this prison, or will their hearts slowly be drawn to the temptations of poison's sin...'**

"I will condemn all of you...In perpetual darkness to never see the light again," said Riku. Karin was in shock of Riku's decision in punishment.

"Why are you doing this, Riku? Your better than this!" cried Lorena. A type of blackened barrier surrounded the two groups, except Chaos and Cosmos. Returned to human form of his true self, Sora looks at the dark barrier Riku putted up. Garbed in black shorts, black jacket and vest-like shirt with silver, red, and blue. His shoes were of biohazard colors of black and yellow. Red-orange pockets were held in place of yellow straps on his shorts.

"You shouldn't of crossed both of yours and their worlds...You have disrupted the balance of all worlds. After their punishments are done and they become heartlesses and nobodies..I will have Riku punish the both of you as well," said Sora. Cosmos and Chaos knew that Riku and Sora were more powerful than the both of them, so they quickly submitted to their divine rulings. Inside the barrier of Darkness, everyone suffered, but tried to break out as best as they could. Koko, Boko, and the chicks held together, making sure to not get separated.

"Darn it! We're stuck inside! There's no way to break this..." fumed Jecht. "So I guess..This is the end for us...Beginning of the end," said Cloud, holding Tifa in his arms.

"No...Sora is not like that...He wouldn't do this. But since he said he was 'Ruler of Kingdom Hearts'..We must've broken some rule to deserve this.." said Karin, submitting to despair. Firion walks to her and kneels down, "Don't say that...Don't give in like this. We will find a way out...It just takes time..-" "Time which we don't have...They're going to turn us into heartlesses and nobodies and we can't find a way out..." said Tidus, interrupting Firion.

"I know I'm not helping, but its the truth...A truth we need to avoid," Tidus continued. "It is pointless...We can't defeat them, not even us," said Sephiroth. Vivian held onto him with her life. A few hours pass as everyone tried to break the barrier, Tidus receives a frantic telepathic message from the Goddess of Harmony and the God of Discord.

'Tidus...You must hurry and break through the barrier. Sora has long believed that we are the source of the battles and has decided to destroy your homes and the three girls' to rid the problem...' said Cosmos in a panic. 'You must hurry, If Sora wins, all your homes will be diminished. We will vanish completely,' said Chaos. Tidus was shocked, then he relayed the message to the others. This shocked them out of lament.

"Sora must believe if we survive...We would be a bad influence to the other worlds. He really doesn't want to do this, but he's following his heart alone. We have to knock some sense into Sora..But first we need to get out.." said Karin, fully understanding Sora's nature. Everyone rallied and tried to break through again.

"No! There has to be a way!" cried the Onion Knight, slashing at the walls of the barrier. Everyone tried in vain, but however, the barrier held. "No! If he wins, then..." Tidus started, then flash backs of the other places he hasn't been too, but sees through empathy of Balamb Garden, Besaid Islands, Lindblum, Fynn, Cornelia, and more. If Sora does destroy those places and them, there will be countless casualties.

"I don't want it all to end! Please, no!" screamed the Onion Knight, "I have to save the Floating Continent!" The Cloud of Darkness fires a beam attack into the barrier wall to shatter it, but it bounces back and nails her. She takes the hit and flies backwards, but the Cloud of Darkness lands into the arms of Exdeath.

"Save your energy of the void...Don't waste it because of this dark barrier.." said Exdeath. It seemed like a type of connection through one thing: They both talk about the void. Karin and Lorena try Firaga at the barrier wall, but instead it bounces back, nailing below their feet.

"Gha! Darn it!" they screamed. Boko and the family pecked at the barrier til their beaks hurt, but it only lasted for fifteen minutes. The Chocobos then hold their beaks in agony and chirp in sadness. 'No! I won't let those two destroy everything!' thought Tidus. He morphs into Bahamugena, charging up for a beam attack from earlier. Jecht joins in as Sin and charges up as well.

'Kid..Your not leaving me hanging!' Jecht said in telepathy. "Everyone get down!" cried Bartz. The Chocobos ducked and Koko hid the chicks under her wings. The two finish charging and fire at both sides as they spun in the air. For the first time, the barrier cracked and in an instant broke, releasing the occupants inside. Sora and Riku stare in surprise, but Riku was shocked.

"No way...Sin and Bahamugena broke my barrier..How?" Riku wondered. Sora already had an answer, "When fully charged, both either Sin or Bahamugena's hyper beam can pierce through the strongest of barriers of magic. Yours is one of them." Debris of the barrier rained down on the battlefield and faded way, revealing the warriors of both Cosmos and Chaos for the first time fighting together.

"Sora! Do you realize what your doing!" screamed Karin, "If you destroy our homes, and us...There will be vast amounts of casualties. Is this what you want to rid the problem from these wars?"

"I won't let you spread to my worlds I govern. I'm ending the problem at its source...You. I really don't want to destroy all of you, in honesty, but in order to get rid of problems like this, I must," answered Sora, showing vast amounts of honesty in his answer. Riku nodded in agreement.

"Oh, knock it off, Riku...You sold yourself to the darkness, why should you care? Is this why you attracted the Heartless to Destiny Island?" said Lorena. Riku knew what she was talking about, but lowered his head in remorse.

"Don't answer that...They don't have the right to know...But I already knew, but keeping quiet.." said Sora, trying to cheer Riku up. Riku perks up and turns to the group ahead.

"Sora! I'll make a deal with you...If I beat you in battle, can you spare everyone here, even Cosmos and Chaos?.." Karin stated to the teenager version of Sora. "If I win..?" asked Sora.

"If you win...Do whatever you have to do..." said Karin. She knew she was risking everything. Karin then turns to Firion, "I have to do this...Its the only way I know, alone.."

"Come back in one piece...Please..." said Firion. He then removes his multi-colored bandanna and places it on Karin's head, just how he wore it, revealing his silver hair. "Leave Riku to me...I make the same deal like you, Karin...-" "Is that a fact?" said Riku, cutting her sentence off as he quickly appears in front of Lorena, "Then I will show you...True darkness..."


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Final Battle: Cosmos and Chaos Vs. Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII\ Lorena Vs. Riku and Karin Vs. Sora

**'The ultimate battle for humanity lies in the hearts of two chosen warriors of Cosmos. One to battle light as the other enters a world of true darkness. Will they come back, or die in vain...'**

Karin knew she had everything on the line, but nothing like this. As if by will, Riku summons a vast amount of unknown creatures of many sorts, all bearing the same symbol as Riku. The amounts were enormous and most of them were of black and show characteristics of being humanoid.

"These are the Heartless. They follow my commands with no question, like my shadows...Lorena..Are you prepared to enter darkness that you never could of imagined it to be? True darkness?" said Riku. Just as the Heartless appeared, so does another group of creatures, but not like them.

The next vast group was all in white, silver white with designs that looked like an upside-down heart with the prongs aiming up, in black and white. They appear like they are very flexible and sorta pulse with instability. Also, before Sora, thirteen portals appear and reveals a group before him. The first, and their leader, had spikey silver hair and tanned-like skin. The sceond had black, silver stripped hair pulled back in a pony tail with scars on his face, including an eye patch across his left eye.

The third had dread locked black hair that was pulled back, plus sideburns on both sides. The fourth had long, blonde-ish hair that stretched past his shoulders. The fifth had spiked, slicked back reddish hair and showed a kind of angry look on his face. The sixth had short, dull blue hair in downward spikes that covered his right eye. The seventh had long, bright blue hair that alittle spiked up at the top. His eyes were golden yellow and a 'X' shaped scar was shown across his forehead.

The eighth was a red head, alittle similar to Reno, but there were plenty of differences. One: His red hair was shorter than Reno's and pointed into spikes. Two: He had green eyes, and three: He was dressed in a black hooded trench coat, pants, boots, and gloves; just like the rest of the group of thirteen. What showed a great resemblance between the two was the tattooing below their eyes, but different designs. The ninth was a dirty-blonde with a hairstyle that was a cross between a mullet and a Mohawk, spiked. The tenth had white, short cutted hair and a same colored beard. What was striking was his multi pierced ears that had multiple ear rings, including one that bore the same design of the upside down heart design.

The eleventh was a man with short, neck legnth puffy dull red hair. The twelveth was the first female of the group Karin and the others saw for the first time. She had neck legnth, golden blonde hair with two sets of strands sticking up to point to the back. The last and thirteenth was younger than the others with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. What was shocking to Karin is that the thirteenth group member had some similarities to Sora in someway, but why and how is the question.

"These thirteen are called 'Organization XIII'...They are higher leveled Nobodies," said Sora, "A Nobody is a shell left behind from those of strong will and heart corrupted with darkness, and becomes a Heartless." Riku steps foward to the group, then said, "Here are the names and aliases of each member: Xemnas the Superior, Xigbar the Sharpshooter, Xaldin the Whirlwind Lancer, Vexen the Chilly Academic, Lexaeus the Silent Hero, Zexion the Dark Schemer, Saix the Luna Diviner, Axel the Flurry of Dancing Flames, Demyx the Melodious Nocturne, Luxord the Gambler of Fate, Marluxia the Graceful Assassin, Larxene the Savage Nymph, and lastly; Roxas the Key of Destiny."

Reno turns to Cid, then said in a whisper, "That red head over there is named 'Axel'?" Just as Reno looks foward, Axel was right in front of him, scaring him.

"Your a quick learner...Have you memorized my name correctly?" said Axel. Karin began to panic, but she was then caught off guard by Roxas, who was standing before her.

"Have you figured it out yet?" he asked, "Have you figured out who's Nobody I am. Those of great hearts and will that lose their hearts to the darkness shed their shells of their former selves, thus creating a nodody. Have you figured it out yet?" Karin looks at Roxas, then answered, "I already know...Your name's an anagram of your true self..Your the Nobody of Sora." An eerily wicked smirk appeared on Roxas's face.

"But there's one thing that separates the both of you...Your evil, like an evil twin," Karin said. Roxas then grabs hold of Karin, bringing her to his face. "Really?...Would you like to find out?" leered Roxas.

"Roxas!" Xemnas, the leader called out. Roxas turns to him. "Let her go...She is not your foe..." said Xemnas. Roxas had a distastefully look on his face about this command, but Axel was the one to convince him, "Let her go Rox...We can beat up the other guys." Roxas then releases Karin from his gloved grip and went to Axel, then the both of them went back to the group.

"It looks like the final battle is about to start..." Tidus said to Jecht. "Good...I'll show them..What happens if anyone tries to destroy Zanarkand. I don't care if its a ruin, or a city. Its still my home and I will kill anyone that tries to do that," answered Jecht.

"It seems all your hearts have lead you to damnation," said Xemnas. Everyone looked towards Organization XIII.

"All sins will lead to darkness..Your feeble, fragile hearts," said Saix. "Soon..You two will be gambling for your lives..And I know who the two I'm speaking of are," said Luxord, addressing to both Karin and Lorena. The other members: Xigbar, Xaldin, and Zexion giggle to themselves.

"All of you will become Heartlesses and Nobodies very soon...It will all end here," said Vexen, being logic. "Enough...In order to do so..We must wipe them out..Lets see how long everyone will last...Before Karin and Lorena can defeat me and Riku.." said Sora, silencing the Organization members. A portal appears behind Sora and he leaps backwards into it. Karin quickly dashes to the portal and leaps into it, making it and causing it to disappear.

"Karin!..Huh? Riku!" Lorena called out, turning her attention to Riku, who as well created a portal and went through. Lorena makes it and walks through, entering the dark realm that was inhabited by the Heartless and the Deity of Darkness himself: Riku.

"While those girls are busy with the deities..We have to hold out against the Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII til they defeat them, its the only way!" said Tidus.

"Now can we beat them up?" asked Roxas. "Yep...Now we can beat them up.." answered Axel. "Finally! I was getting bored already," said Demyx, overhearing the two.

"You can't even fight...Why would you get bored...You don't even have a heart like all of us," sneered Larxene. "We do have hearts! Why won't you listen to me?" said Demyx.

"Because your an idiot.." said Xaldin. Xigbar started giggling. "Good one, Xaldin," answered Larxene. Demyx crossed his arms in disgust.

"You guys..." Demyx growled. Xemnas cleared his throat, signaling the other Organization members to cease their actions and silence themselves.

"Lets put an end to this...Their hearts have lead them to eternal oblivion. Let's guide them to their destination," said Xemnas. Each of the members then got out their weapons of choice. The battle between the combined group of Chaos and Cosmos and Organization XIII, Nobodies, and the Heartlesses was about to start. Deep in a cavern-like battlefield with a gigantic lake in the center of it, Karin looked around the area, trying to find Sora.

"Where is he? Where'd..Huh? What's this?" said Karin, spotting a type of plack near the lake. "What does this say?" wondered Karin. The plack read:

**'When the worlds are in danger of the threat of Dark, or a disrupting in the balance that needs to be quelled, the Keybearer of Light will appear, armed with the Keyblade.**

**No matter the depth of Darkness, there will always be a light, a guiding light that will shine through the eternity of pure Darkness.**

**I will guide you, for the passages are of darkness, I shall be your heart's light.**

**Your light is my light, my light is your light. Prosper it well, or it will fall from its grace.**

There was one more inscription on the plack, but it was in small letters, as if it was freshly engraved into the stone structure:

**'Thinking of you, where ever you are..We pray for our sorrows to end..'**

Karin was in confusion of what it meant, but then a familiar voice behind her forced Karin to turn to face the lake. "A scattered dream is like a far off memory...A far off memory is like a scattered dream..," said Sora, rising from the water as a merman, looking towards Karin, "I want to line the pieces up...Yours and mine..." Deep in the blackened realm of darkness, Lorena searches for Riku, but then enters a blackened room that had cavern-like wall spikes of black and the stone floors of blood red.

"Whoa...This must be what Riku meant by 'True Darkness'..." said Lorena. She also sees that some of the walls were of organic in someways, pulsing with a type of light running through it to highlight the area. Lorena walks carefully around til she spots one of the Heartlesses rising from the ground. From the games she played, Lorena knew what the Heartless was. It was called 'Shadow'.

"Its a Shadow Heartless...Hold on, where is it going?" wondered Lorena. She follows the Shadow and soon it leads her to a center platform with a plack in the middle. The Heartless faded into the floor and moved away.

"Whoa...What does this say?" wondered Lorena as she walked closer. The plack read:

**'It swallows me...The darkness is swallowing me...**

**I fall into the shadows...Just like before. I fall to the shadows...Never to return again to the world of light.**

**My descent is eternal, continuing its hold on me...My descent is everlasting, to herald's end.**

**My pain, my sorrow are fusing into one..My madness, my insanity, mixed into one with the infinite darkness.**

**The shadows follow me, everywhere I go..It follows me, like a follower to its ruler. **

**Follow me...I command you...Follow me into the eternal void of darkness.**

**My descent is eternal...Everlasting..I have forever fallen into the darkened abyss.**

**Poisonous vines of the darkened void, swarming, cloaking, cladding me with the eternal dark.**

**I am darkness...The darkness of the world...My darkness, your darkness, our darkness...**

**Your heart is strong, but is it strong enough against light's end? The realm of darkness and the void of eternal madness?**

**Behold the everlasting darkness...A poison of all of sin to suffer...Especially you.**

Lorena was puzzled, but soon her thought was cut off by a familiar voice from her right. "Behold the endless abyss...Within this world, there is no light to save you from true madness," the voice said. Lorena turned to her right, seeing Riku rising from the ground like a Shadow Heartless.

"Look as hard as you can...As hard as you are able..There is not a glimmer of light to save you of a realm that is where the condemned fall to..A realm of darkness..This is darkness at its fullest..True darkness," Riku continued.

"Yeah..Its the same darkness you drew to Destiny Island...What caused you to attract them to your home?" questioned Lorena. Riku kept his vigil on Lorena, showing no emotion. "You will fall into the shadows...But before you do..I will show you, my true potential," said Riku. As if on cue, a centaur-based Heartless arrives to the scene with its spear. Riku's body began to become like a ghost, see throughy and as if going to phase through something.

Lorena then noticed what kind of Heartless it was. It was an 'Assualt Rider' Heartless. Riku shows one of his abilities by phasing into the Heartless and begins to merge with its body, as if fusing into one. The Heartless begins to take form of something else, but still it was a type of centaur. The entire body was a combination of dark blue, purple, black and small traces of yellow. The only yellow seen was its eyes. It became more reptilian with traces of dragonic features, including a reptilian, amphibious-based upper body and sharp dagger fangs.

"Do you see what I can do?...I can merge into any Heartless in order to morph into one of my forms I possess. Do you think you can fight darkness? You will becomed swallowed by it..I am darkness..And I will swallow you!" said a newly transformed Riku. Lorena braced for the worst, but knew she had to defeat Riku somehow.

"Sora...I have to defeat you..." said Karin, drawing out her sword from its sheath. "Karin...No one can defeat me, but I have foreseen my defeat. I will change all that. I foresee everything; good or bad...I do what is necessary to follow the great balance," said Sora, swimming in the water with his lower fish-like body.

"Does that mean destroying our homes? Your trying to take away the things I care about. Like I stated earlier, 'Even if your good, if you try to take all that away, I will fight for it...'," said Karin. Sora then leaps out of the water, but soon changes his form quickly to a new appearance Karin hasn't seen. Sora now appears as a type of ghoul with clothes that mimicked his original outfit, but it was black and grey and pointed ended shoes. White gloved, claw-like hands and vampire fangs, he also had a type of pumpkin covering his right eye, giving a wicked smile. He hovered with the two little bat wings on his jacket, landing safely to the ground.

"As I stated...I am a shape-shifter. My appearances are deceptive, just to adapt to the world I go to..," said Sora. As if by magic, Sora summons his weapon of choice: the Keyblade. "I am the Keybearer of Light...I will risk and sacrifice everything to protect those that threatened the great design. I am the one that saved all worlds from the threat of darkness...Thousands of years ago. I have been alive since the creation of Light and Darkness, much longer than Bahamugena and Sin," Sora said, placing the facts to Karin.

"Show me the strength of your guiding light.." said Karin. Sora then smiled, "Karin..I am the light..." Groups of Chaos and Cosmos charge forward at the attacking force of the Heartless, Nobodies, and the Organization.

"The red head is mine!" shouted Reno. Armed with his fire chakrams, Axel charges at the group, then answered Reno's battle call, "I'll burn you to a crisp!" The two combined groups collide, fighting one another with such ferocity. Jecht slashes and collides his sword into Lexaeus's tomahawk, landing the both of them in a quick stalemate.

"Nice sword," said Lexaeus. "Nice tomahawk," answered Jecht. "Too bad I don't have a heart.." Lexaeus said, pushing Jecht backwards. Tidus slashes at the 'Assassin' Nobodies as he took out the 'Neo Shadow' Heartlesses surrounding him, but a sneak attack was being deployed. A type of arrow-bullet nails Tidus in the back, he quickly turns to see a glimpse of Xigbar, but he teleports as quick as the glance.

'Xigbar is like a sniper...He's quick..' thought Tidus, but another arrow-bullet hits him in his left side. "Gahh!" screamed Tidus. He then turned to the attack's direction of origin to face the Sharp Shooter, but he was already gone in a flash. Rude tries to punch and kick Vexen, but he always draw up his blue, silver outlined sheild as a defense.

"Drop your stupid shield, you hippie!-" As a response to Rude's comment, Vexen slams the front of his sheild into Rude's face, knocking him to the ground on his back. "Don't you ever...Call me a 'Hippie'...Or suffer," threatened Vexen. Demyx, armed with a blue, white lined sitar in the same shape as the insignia of the Nobodies, begins to play a tune, facing the Onion Knight and Paine.

"Ready to dance?" smirked Demyx. "I don't think we want to dance...But lets tango.." said the Onion Knight, already contradicting himself in Demyx's statement.

"Here we go!" Demyx said as he started playing his sitar, summoning water clones of himself into the battlefield. Paine was in shock, "Oh, great...More Demyxs..?" The Onion Knight casts Comet at the clones, trying to hit the real Demyx as he slid on a wave of water away from the attack, but the worst was yet to come.

"Dance water dance!" cried Demyx, casting a pillar attack of water at the two. In a quick speed, the two dodge it, then began to think of a counter-attack against the Melodious Nocturne. Cid had a tough time against Marluxia, who was armed with a scythe that has a pink blade and a green and yellow handle; like a flower.

"Some scythe...A pink blade? What are you, a girly man?" questioned Cid, preparing to strike his spear at Marluxia. "Beauty can be a deadly disguise..." was all Marluxia said, and swung the scythe at Cid, but he leaps over it, dodging all the damage from the receiving end. "Gah...What a swing..." Cid said to himself.

Bartz had his hands full with Roxas, who was proving to be a worthy opponent. "You maybe Sora's Nobody, but your not him," Bartz stated.

"Say what you want...Human...I am a Nobody, I don't even have a heart. We Nobodies never did have hearts to begin with," said Roxas, resisting Bartz's statement. Bartz charges at Roxas at full swing, but the Key of Destiny had a better counter attack planned out in his mind. Dodging Bartz's swing from his sword, Roxas lands behind the mimic and nails his back with his own Keyblade, causing damage.

"Gah! Darn it..." Bartz fumed to himself. What irritated Bartz more was Roxas's constant smile, which showed a wicked opposite to a kind hearted Sora.

"Your not ready to battle me...How about you practice with a Dusk?" said Roxas. "I got an idea...How about you shut up and die already!" Bartz roared, showing his anger at Roxas. Roxas was impressed, "Such harsh words...This is going to be fun.." Reno runs across the battlefield with his hair on fire, due to some of Axel's fire attacks.

"Gah! My hair! My hair! Oh, water!" Reno screamed. He uses the water ground in Cosmos's sanctuary to qwell the fire and extinguishes the flames on his head, but soon sees a reflection of Axel, about to slash his left chakram at him. Reno rolls away in a panic, dodging all the damages flying at him. He then gets out his shock staff and attempts to shock Axel, but the Flurry of Dancing Flames dodges it, moving to the right.

"Oh..So close..." cooed Axel. Reno tries again. "Almost had it.." Axel said again, moving to the left. This was getting on Reno's nerves. "Hold still!" he shouted out. Axel then shows a wicked smirk and knocks the shock staff out of his hand with his left chakram, preparing for a kick attack. "Burn!" Axel called out as he nails Reno in the gut, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Reno coughs, getting back up, but then falls to the ground again.

"Well...That's that...Your no fun at all...To bad I don't have a heart. Memorize that.." Axel said, unimpressed by his victory against Reno that arrived quickly. Reno gets back up and physically punches Axel in the right side of his face, showing the first sign of damage to the Flurry of Dancing Flames.

"Memorize that...Axel..." said Reno, panting from the rush attack he used against Axel. What Reno doesn't know, things are about to get worse. Axel turns to Reno, showing rage in his green eyes.

"Now you done it...No one..Is going to save you...Now!" Axel said, ending it with a scream. A wall of fire surrounds Reno and Axel, making sure Reno doesn't flee from the scene. Reno had to redeem himself, so he prepared to use his hands, not his shock staff to battle an enraged Organization member.

"Now I will show you...Why they call me the 'Flurry of Dancing Flames'...As long as I am standing, my fires won't die! They only die when I die...I will show you the meaning of 'Hellfire'!" Axel stated, spinning the chakrams in circles in his hands by the crossed handles in the middle. The blades of both chakrams caught fire, channeling Axel's fire energy into his own weapon. He then shows a familiar wicked smile, which was more like a wicked smirk as he faced Reno face to face.

"Got it memorized?" Axel questioned. Reno prepared for the worst. Lorena dodges the Heartless fused Riku in combat with her sword she was given to by Garnet, which became very handy from the battle before and now it would prove more handier against the Heartless lord.

"Firaga!" Lorena shouted out, casting Firaga at Riku. It did half the damage, but it wasn't enough. "Nice Firaga spell...You must've learned it from that black mage, Lulu...Sora's Firaga is more, more powerful than hers and yours combined, including that Vivi...My turn to show you a spell of my own..." said Riku. He reared himself up into the air and then called out, "Dark Aura!" A dark Firaga-based energy blast shoots out of his right hand, aiming at Lorena. She dodges it and casts Thundaga, damaging the Heartless even further. The form became unstable and instantly Riku diffuses from the Assualt Rider quickly, then the Heartless was destroyed, releasing a captive heart.

"Magic alone cannot save your soul..." said Riku, materializing physically. Lorena runs at him with her sword in hand, but there was a surprise awaiting for her. Before she struck him, Riku summons a magic barrier to defend himself, bouncing Lorena off, instantly landing on her back.

"Gahh...Dark Shield..Of course," Lorena fumed to herself in a lone tone. She gets back up and prepares for another assault, but another type of Heartless is summoned by the Heartless lord's will of a noble sacrifice. This type of Heartless kinda resembled a robed creature with a Chinese-like hat with the insignia of the Heartless on paper taped to the hat. It was known by Lorena as 'Nightwalker'.

'No...Another Heartless? He's going to merge with that one...' thought Lorena. She was right. Riku began to become intangible as a phantom and phased into the Nightwalker, fusing as one into it. Riku's second Heartless form is revealed. In a type of cloak and a drape-like hat of blood red, his new form had long, talon-based claws on his hands and a more bird-like head that resembled a vulture in a twisted way. His feet was also bird-like with long sharp talons.

"Darkness is eternal. I am eternal. You cannot destroy darkness, no matter how much power you obtained in the process," said the newly formed Riku. Lorena wasn't going to back down. She makes a dash at the Heartless lord and slashes her sword at him, but misses with each time he moved away.

"Not this time! Thundaga!" shouted Lorena. She casts Thundaga at the deity, leaving no chance for him to dodge. Riku responds with Dark Aura, but Lorena casts a wave of Firaga to nail the Heartless lord, only three out of six hitted him. He then becomes stunned for Lorena to slash at Riku with her sword, causing more damage on him. After three powerful swings, the Heartless's form becomes unstable and Riku diffuses out quickly. In mere seconds, the Nightwalker is destroyed as a sacrifice. Riku materializes at a far corner of the platform, but enters a trance-like state. His aqua eyes peer upward in a trance, unable to move. Lorena was puzzled, til she saw what the trance was for. Riku was regenerating.

'No..He's healing himself, but slowly..I have to defeat him quickly,' thought Lorena. After a few minutes, Riku begins to move, only able to recover five percent of his energy, but more soon later. Karin dodges each swing of Sora's keyblade and retaliates with swings of her sword in return. She casts Firaga at Sora, but he has a spell in his arsenal that not even Karin knew.

"You should not have done that..Allow me to demonstrate..Reflect!" Sora said. A type of shield surrounds Sora, but this shield was no ordinary sheild. As soon as the Firaga spell hitted it, it bounced off and flew directly back at Karin. In a nick of time, she dodges it all together.

"Whoa!" was all Karin said. 'The Reflect spell...That's a powerful spell...I need to learn that..." thought Karin. "I can read your thoughts...You want to know 'Reflect? Keep fighting and you might figure it out..." said Sora. He then changes his appearance again, but this time it was more different than the merman form and the ghoul form. He appeared as a lion cub with light tinted brown fur, his hair and hair color is retained, but becomes his mane. His necklace becomes a collar. Sora's eyes are yellow with blue irises and sharp wild cat fangs are shown as he growls at Karin. His paws are silver white while his underbelly fur was a light silver gray. Sora in this form was only able to communicate through telepathy.

'See? I am a true shape-shifter..All thanks to magic..' Sora spoke in telepathy, circling Karin as prey. Karin kept her guard up.

"I won't let you eat me like a lion..." Karin warned. 'Eat you? I'm not a cannibal. This battle is not over yet, til one of us is still standing..' said Sora. Karin held her guard high, but knew from game experience, Sora cannot use magic in this form, unless to change form again. The lion cub pounces, trying to knock Karin down, but since watching a certain movie, she knew what to do in case if he did held her down. Sora continues his assaults on Karin, til he leaps up and pounces on her, holding her to the ground, swiping his clawed paws at her face.

"Get off! Get off!" Karin cried out, trying to fight Sora off. He growls a feral growl like a typical lion and continues to attack. Karin then takes both her legs and tosses the cub into the ground from the air, dazing the lion-based Keybearer for a bit. Karin gets up and does the exact same thing, damaging the cub with physical attacks.

"How you like that? How you like that? I'm gonna smack you back to the Pride Lands!" said Karin, smacking the cub with her hands. The cub then knocks her off, getting back up to repeat the attack, but Karin out weighs the cub and continues to smack him some more.

'Gesh...I thought Kairi was the only one that smacks me around occasionally?' thought Sora. The cub then knocks her off, then gallops away from the area to a double turret defense system and changes form for the fourth time. Sora returns human with the same outfit, but this time it was far more different. His clothes was a dark blue with bright, neon blue highlights and a type of plug-based helmet on his head. As soon as Sora takes this form, four grapple cables grabs hold of his back and pulls him up to the center of the defense system, acting as an energy source. Karin knows this form by gaming experience; Sora was now a program and can operate any machinery terminally at will, like a program would.

'All main systems are functioning at fourty-five percent...Calibrating main system function...' The program version of Sora said in telepathy, wasting no energy to speak. The defense system began to whir to life, lighting up the turrets with colors of black and neon highlighted bright red lights. The center console where the Keybearer was still dark blue with neon bright blue as of Sora's new form's color schemes.

'Who putted this in here? It looks really deadly...' thought Karin as she looked at the turrets. The turrets turn online. moving left, right, up, down, and diagonally up and down to test its maneuverability. All the turret defense systems were now fully operational.

'All systems are operational at a hundred percent. Beginning to engage the enemy...' the program in the center said in telepathy. Sora then turns to Karin then said in a normal human fashion, 'Do you think you can find away to disable this turret? Show me what you can do...' Karin prepared for the worst as the turrets began to charge up for an attack. Lorena skids across the platform as the third transformation of Riku rams her with one of his fists. Merged with a 'Neo Shadow' Heartless, he appeared as his original self, but more demonic and darkened with black colored skin, red claws, a lizard tail, and a more demonic, reptilian head with sharp yellow fangs.

"I am eternal...You can't get rid of darkness. Like Chaos, the God of Discord, always says, 'Light...Will never purge darkness.'," said Riku, glaring at Lorena with his snake-like serpent eyes.

"Light and Darkness are eternal, like you always say. But if you set your mind to the task in the service of Light, you can work at it to purge Darkness...That's how we create peace," said Lorena, placing a fact that Riku has been stating through out the battle.

"My envy...Lead the Heartless to my world..." muttered Riku. Lorena overheard him, "Envy?"

"Do you see...I truly am a Heartless...Suffer!" roared the creature before Lorena. Riku casts Dark Aura this time with his left hand and aims a wave of Dark Auras at Lorena. She leaps to the left and dodges the attack simultaneously. As like a Neo Shadow, Riku melds to the ground and moves to Lorena's location. She tries to move away, but thorns of darkness began to emerge from the ground, bounding her ankles to the ground.

"Gah! No! Gah!" screamed Lorena. She struggles to free herself, but Riku makes it to her location, rising from the ground.

"Now do you know what true darkness is? My darkness is eating away at your soul..." cooed the Heartless lord, fuming darkened fog from each exhale, "With each and passing minute here in this realm...Your heart slowly becomes corrupted with darkness...And soon...You will become a part of us...Heh heh heh heh.."

"No...I won't become a Heartless...Despite what you say!" Lorena called out, breaking through the vines that bound her and slashes her sword into his form, causing damage.

"Grrraaahhhrrrr...Your light is strong, but is it enough?" said Riku. The turrets began to fire a stream of blue lasers at Karin fled away from the turret's accurate aim. "Wah! Feet don't fail me now!" screamed Karin as she ran for dear life. She then hid behind a rock pillar and the beams were hitting the pillar instead of her as a shield.

'Enemy out of range...Engaging thermal scan...' the program spoke in telepathy. A type of scope visor rose from the top of the main turret's body, scanning the area for Karin, even though she was hiding behind the pillar.

"I have to disable that thing...And Sora..He really is a true shape-shifter in adaptation..Huh?" Karin's thought was then cut off by a type of terminal to her right. It appeared to be connected to the turret systems. An idea pops into Karin's brain.

'Of course...A virus..That way it will infect him and the defense system at the same time...Karin, your a genius!' she thought to herself. The scope visor in thermal vision picks Karin up on radar, showing Sora where the 'Enemy' is.

'Enemy in sight...Proceed to firing mode...' the program said in telepathy. The turrets then turn to the pillar and open fire again, but Karin picked up a medium sized rock and tosses it at the scope aiming at her and causes little damage, causing it to swish to the left away from her. Karin makes a dash to the terminal and begins to use it to defeat the machine.

'Okay..Thanks to another friend of mine before 'he' moved away...I'll be able to infect the machine and him at the same time...' thought Karin. As soon as she was getting started, the image of Sora in his program form appeared, as if he was trying to block her attempt.

"Young one...Do you think you can infect me? I want to see if you can...My defenses are at a hundred percent, can you weaken it to a certain percent range to win? Let's find out.." said Sora. The image fades and an indicator of the shielding in the program world used against Karin's attempts to upload the virus.

"Great...I have to try to damage the sheilding on the outside world here, and it will also weaken the program world sheilds as well...Oh, boy..At least for me to try to figure out Reflect..." Karin fumed to herself. She rushes out to the turret and prepares to attack one of the parts to the machine: The scope. The visor focuses on Karin, then the barrels of laser cannons soon followed.

'Enemy in range and in sight...Engaging...Fire at will..' said the program once again in telepathy. The turrets fire towards Karin, then she makes a dash away from the lasers and quickly picks up another medium sized rock and tosses it at the scope visor, causing more damage to the machine.

"Take that!" screamed Karin as she finds another medium size rock as the turret's fire was briefly interrupted as the scope spun in circles. The visor returns its vigil on Karin, but she returns the favor by tossing the rock at the scope more harder than before. As the final rock hits the scope, it crackles with damage and breaks off, leaving the machine sightless.

'Warning...Warning...Scope visor malfunction...Repairing damage momentarily...Scope irreplaceable...Reverting to alternate visor..' as soon as the program finished, the blue sheild-like glass visor rose from Sora's eyes, revealing his full face to Karin, retaining the scope's lost vigil. Sora then uses his own voice, then said to Karin, "I see you..."

"Rahh! I won't become a Heartless to you!" Lorena called out, slashing her blade at Riku, causing extensive damage to his Heartless form. It soon becomes unstable and Riku diffuses out of the Neo Shadow, instantly destroyed in a sacrifice.

"Enough Heartlesses...I will fight you as I am...I bet you are growing weary of me hiding in a Heartless and not fighting you as my own entity. Here is your chance...Show me how powerful your light is, til you fall into the infinite shadows.." said Riku, arming himself with another kind of Keyblade that the blade had a small angel wing at the top and the blade part mimicking a demonic wing. The handle was half demonic wing, half angel wing with a keychain that looked like the Heartless symbol, or insignia.

"I am the Keybearer of Darkness.." said Riku, "And I will steal your heart...Just to make you one of us..." Lorena enters her fighting stance, preparing to combat Riku head to head. The two rush at one another, clashing both swords together in a quick stalemate and leap backwards to launch another wave of attacks. Lorena casts Thundaga and a Blizzaga combination at Riku, only able to hit him with Thundaga.

"Such powerful spells...Is it enough..." said Riku, entering his trance. Lorena knew she would be able to nail him while he was immobile. Lorena does this and causes more damage to Riku, til he breaks out of his trance and attacks back.

"Gah...I'm such a fool...I will not be fooled again!" said Riku, realizing his mistake. He then retaliates and attacks Lorena, but she blocks each strike with an attack of her own. Lorena tries to pierce through Riku's Dark Sheild, but it was impossible.

'There's no way to pierce his shield!..I gotta wait til he lowers it..' thought Lorena. Riku disengages his Dark Shield and prepares to attack Lorena. Each assault shook the area with clashes of metal and will, including Lorena's will to not fall into the darkness that Riku's essence was truly of. She finally nails him with her Blizzaga, knocking Riku backwards on his feet. He teleports away from the scene with Lorena knowing why he did.

'No...He's going to heal himself...Where is he?' thought Lorena. She frantically searches the area for any sign of him, til she sees crackles of dark energy from a far platform corner to the left. 'There!' thought Lorena. She makes a dash to his location and intercepts the deity of the dark, causing as much damage as she could to break Riku out of his trance.

"Grahh! Grrr...My..Form cannot be sustained..." groaned Riku, then teleported away. Lorena then looks to the platform; then makes a dash to the area where Riku was, in the middle of the floating platform in the center of the blackened room of an abyss. As she leaps onto it, she quickly attacks Riku, and he attacks back. In sync of Riku's attacks and Dark Auras, Lorena dodges each attempt of Riku wounding her. She then returns it back with attacks of her own. After a few minutes of dodging and attacking. Lorena had won the round, but Riku has a 'Dark' secret, which was becoming uncontainable inside the deity's fleshy form.

"Grrr...Grrr...My form...Cannot be sustained..." groaned Riku. His own human form was also becoming unstable, as if Riku was a host of something inside his body that was trying to make its presence known. Evidences of something underneath his skin appeared as if crawling up and anywhere on his bare torso underneath.

"Look what you have done...Now you will see..True darkness. My flesh cannot be sustained. Before you fall to the darkness of the shadows, I will show you...The real me...Grah...Grahra...Grrrraaaahhhh!" Riku said before roaring, falling backwards into the bottom abyss of darkness. Lorena looks down into the shadow below, wondering if the battle was over. Karin returns to the console near the defense machine and checks on the amount of shielding left til she can upload the virus.

'Good, its going down...Just with fifteen to twenty percent left, then both it and he will get it...Just alittle longer,' thought Karin as she tries to figure out how to weaken the defense system further. She runs back out and casts Firaga at the machine's turrets, damaging them til her magic was spent. Karin ran out of magic, she couldn't cast anymore.

'No..Not now...' thought Karin in a panic. Sora instantly sensed her plight, "Why did you spend all your magic like that? You need to perserve them as an attempt in life and death situations like me to stay alive...Conservation is presevation." Karin didn't need any lectures, but she listened carefully with no protest, hoping this could help her as hints. The laser cannons fire at Karin like machine guns. She flees to the right, dodging each round as it collided with the rock-based walls.

'I have to destroy those turret cannons...Somehow..Thank god my magic is slowly regenerating,' thought Karin as she fled to the left, dodging more gun fire. She continues to flee, until she loses her footing and falls to the ground, staring up at the turret's cannons with a dead aim at her.

"I'm sorry it has to end like this...Even I can be corrupted with darkness," said Sora, expressing remorse. The turret charges up, preparing to fire. Karin had to come up with something instead of backing up in fear.

'I could really use Reflect right now...I'd be able to use the turret's own gun fire against it..But the Reflect spell is the key...' thought Karin, mixed with fear and frustration. Slowly the turrets charged up, and Karin was running out of ideas.

'No...I can't even cast Reflect...Its a high leveled spell and only Sora knows it...I can't...As Cloud would say, 'I guess...This is it, then'...' though Karin, falling to despair. As she was preparing for her emanate death, a thought of what Firion said to her came into her mind, acting as an inspiration to live.

'Don't get discouraged...You can do it...Believe,' Firion's voice said. Then Cecil's voice from another thought became audible in her mind, 'Don't give up, Karin, keep trying...' She then got back up, filled with an instinct to live.

'Visualize the lasers flying back at the turrets...two damaging the main body of the machine, while the rest destroys the turrets..I just hope this works..' thought Karin, hoping this works. The turrets finished its charging phase and open fires at Karin, but even before Sora's eyes, she learns one of his spells. Time slows as the lasers closed in at Karin, but she was determined to live against the Keybearer of Light.

"My turn...Reflect!" said Karin, for the first time casting Reflect. A type of shield covers the front of her, reflecting the lasers back at the turret. It damages the body machine, and ultimately destroying the turrets permanently.

'Warning...System malfunction...Main turret defenses malfunctioning...Turret irreplaceable...' the program said in telepathy. Sora turns to Karin in surprise.

"How?...It took me longer then that to master Reflect...How did you do that?" he asked. "Imitating..." answered Karin. With magic left, she had to divert Sora's attention away from her so she can check the shield's status. Karin had a perfect solution.

"I bet you don't know this one...Stars unite!" Karin said to Sora, casting Comet at the defense systems, damaging it even further. A comet nails one of the support cables connected to the center program's body, crackling with electricity.

'Warning...Warning...Warning...All shields have been depleted...Beginning recalibration stasis phase...' the program said telepathic. The blue shield like visor slides down to cover Sora's eyes, entering a type of stasis phase to regenerate the lost shielding. Karin quickly ran to the console, showing her that the shields were gone, but regenerated only one percent.

"Not this time!" Karin said, pressing certain keys to upload the virus, which she called it after her PSP game, the 'DISSIDIA' virus. 'Your infected now...Keybearer..' Karin gleed in her mind. The 'DISSIDIA' virus coursed through the machine like a plague, infecting everything that remained, including Sora himself in his program form.

'Virus detected...All systems are shutting down..Shuttin...G dow...Nnn...' The machine was finished and immediately Sora detaches himself, falling to the ground, reverting to his human form Karin had seen earlier before following him here to battle. Karin approaches the scene with caution, not knowing what will happen if Sora got back up.

"Sora? Are you...Okay?" asked Karin. She knew she shouldn't ask things like that to an enemy, but Sora was different. He begins to stir and sits up, healing his cuts and scrapes with Curaga of his own. Karin did the same thing.

"My forms...Are useless...Like a saying, 'If you want something done, you have to do it yourself..'," said Sora, realizing that his forms weren't effective, "Even though...My human form is the real me...But this is not what I really appear as...I will show you, the power used to protect all the worlds from darkness..My power. I will use all my power to the last drop, and I expect you will do the same, then the truth will be revealed." Karin drew out her sword. Sora does the same, with his Keyblade.

"I will...Let's finish this!" said Karin. Lorena continues to peer into the abyss, but as she backs away from the ledge, something grabs hold of her and pulls her into the air.

"Gahhh! Ahhh! What?" panicked Lorena. What she saw behind her was a type of Heartless ghost that was dark black with areas of dark blue and a Neo Shadow-based head with white eyes. Types of straps were shown on its body and criss-crossing across its head and face.

'No way..Its the Guardian Heartless...If this thing is here..Then..' Lorena thought, recognizing the specter behind her from one of her games. She then turns to the front, facing a man levitating to the scene with his arms crossed, and angry. He had similarities to Xemnas, the Organization's leader, but there were plenty differences to tell them apart. His long, silver hair was more slicker than Xemnas's spiky hair, only spiking up at the top. Despite wearing the same pants and boots as the other members of the Organization, the man wore a dark black topped jacket with the zipper area highlighted with gold yellow. The bottom half of the jacket was a light gray, and so were his buttoned-style gloves.

Silver gray type of shoulder guards were on the shoulders of the jacket. The shirt underneath the jacket was white in color with three buttons on the right corner near the bottom. Straps that held the shirt together with three more buttons on the left top corner near the chest area was shown across his waist. The chest area was open, exposing the tan skin underneath that was just like Xemnas's. As Lorena peered further, she saw one more difference between this man and Xemnas: The Heartless insignia on his chest, almost like Riku.

'I don't believe this...Its Ansem...Or better yet, its Xehanort...' thought Lorena. Xehanort was not happy, glaring at Lorena with his orange colored eyes that were identical to Xemnas's eyes.

"How dare you...Your light harmed the deity. I will not tolerate this..." fumed Xehanort. "Where were you?" questioned Lorena.

"Riku telepathicly instructed me to stay away. I did as I was told. Before he comes back up, I will show you the meaning of 'Heartless'. I will enjoy punishing you for what your light did to the Deity of Darkness..." answered Xehanort, smirking to himself as soon as he was finished. The guardian tosses Lorena to the ground, then hovers to Xehanort, hovering from his shadow.

"Soon...You will be swallowed by darkness! The enevitable is drawing ever so closer, for you..." said Xehanort, clenching his left hand swiftly. He then arms himself with a double blade ended staff that the blades were of demonic wings with a blue demon eye in the center of each blade.

"Oh, boy...I guess I'll have to send you back, where you belong!" cried Lorena, swinging her sword at Xehanort, but he blocks each swing with the staff as he levitates, trying to cause damage on Lorena. She then makes a comment, "Your stalling me, aren't you?...Til Riku returns.."

"Darkness knows all...Have you ever noticed what world you are at when you crossed through the gateway? The world that will soon become your new home?" asked Xehanort as he attacks and blocks. Lorena backs away from the human formed Heartless and flees to the outside of the chamber, wondering what Xehanort was talking about. She exits the room and looks around her new environment, seeing scenarios of purple cave-based walls and many colored structures sticking out.

'What world am I at?' thought Lorena as she peered around. The sky was as dark purple as it could get with light purple clouds of darkened proportions. Pillars of rock stoke out from the glass-based water ground, stretching through out the horizon, leading to a portal of another location. Lorena rushes to the portal and quickly made it through, avoiding a confrontation with a giant, unicorn, curled horned Heartless called a 'Behemoth'.

'Wait a minute...This world...Is...No...' thought Lorena, looking more closely. She travels through caverns of darkness, organic in someways and pulses with white light as if highlighting the passageways to the main chambers that had a poisoned liquid of the darkest purple could ever get, teeming with new Heartless inside it. Stairs rose to the top of the cavernous tower, and Lorena rushes upwards to the top to get a good view of the world she's in.

"The End of the World...The home to darkness...And the Heartless," Lorena said to herself. Thousands upon thousands of Heartlesses swarmed the ground below, ranging from Shadows, to another type of Heartless that appeared as humanoid giants of pure black with yellow eyes and a heart-shaped hole in the middle of its torso, called 'Darkside', Behemoths, Neo Shadows, and much more; including another type of Heartless that looked like a type of angelic, light-bulb-like creature called 'Angel Star'.

"Now do you see where you are at?" Xehanort's voice said, as if catching up to Lorena, "You will soon join their ranks shortly."

"I won't be staying. I will finish this..." said Lorena, vowing that she was not going to become a Heartless. "You speak of lies. Your light is fading with each and passing minute you are here. Why don't you surrender and return to where it all began and will soon end for you...In eternal darkness.." Xehanort countered, giving a smirk.

"You fade to darkness!" said Lorena. She attacks him with everything she had. Xehanort fought valiantly, but was it enough? Karin fought long and valiantly against Sora, who proved to be a worthy adversary. Proving his power, Sora then summoned a second Keyblade, increasing his ferocity one to two notches.

'Oh gezz...Two Keyblades...Roxas can do that, too,' thought Karin. "Don't underestimate your opponents. It will get you killed in the end," said Sora. Karin swings her sword at him, but he blocks with one keyblade and attacks with the other, hitting Karin with such force.

"Gah! I'll get you!" screamed Karin. Determined to defeat Sora to save the others and their homes, she continues to fight.

"Stop!" Sora called out. Karin immediately froze in place against her will, as if time around only her stopped, as time continued to flow around other areas. Sora approaches Karin, aiming one of his Keyblades at her neck.

"I know this is breaking your heart...If you lose, everything you have obtained will be decimated...Your just a human, this battle is beyond your comprehension. I know spells that not even you can master. If by instinct, you learned Reflect, but it won't be enough," said Sora, speaking from the heart.

"Why didn't you prevent my mother's death from Garland?..You foreseen it...Why didn't you!" growled Karin. "The situation was out of my hands; then. It was supposed to happen, Karin; despite what you wanted to change out of it. It had to happen, to give you the strength to fight the soldiers of Chaos," answered Sora, "Your end is drawing near...And soon, your heart will fade to the darkness, into Riku's grasp. I'm sorry for you, but this is how it always was..." Karin listened carefully, but this fueled her rage.

"No...I will not fade to darkness!" Karin cried out, fighting Sora's Stop spell. She fought through it and broke out, armed with her sword in hand.

'Lunarian blood...' thought the Keybearer. "Sora! I'm going to finish this, and give you the punishment you deserve!" Karin roared, pointing at Sora with rushes at Sora, instantly slashing her sword quickly as he blocked with both, or one Keyblade.

"Your supposed to be a saviour! But you want to destroy everything!" said Karin, piercing his defenses. She kicks into Sora and knocks him to the wall. Karin then sticks her sword to the ground like Jecht and punches and kicks the Keybearer with all her strength. Each punch and kick caused extensive damage, and Karin didn't even let him cast Curaga, just pummeling Sora with physical attacks without weapons.

"I'll show you..How mad women can get, when you want to destroy everything they love! I'll show you! I'll show you!" Karin said as she continued to nail the Keybearer of Light. She knew that her rage was the last key to the final bout, and soon it came to its climax when Sora fell to the ground, wounded.

"Such strength...I already know how women get when angered..Heh..My wife gets that way as well..*Cough Cough*," groaned Sora, laying on his back. Karin panted in exhaustion.

"Wife? Your married?" asked Karin. She couldn't believe this. Sora, Keybearer of Light, Deity of Kingdom Hearts..Married?

"I'm not done yet...One more battle...Winner take all..I'll be waiting at home for you..." groaned Sora, then he fell to a comatose-based slumber, then the ground lit up with pure, white light; taking Karin by surprise. Everything went white for Karin, til she woke up at a shoreline of an island.

"Guh...Where am I? Huh?" groaned Karin as she got up. She sees wooden platforms and walkways that lead to other mini-based islands near the main one Karin was on and palm trees that varied in size, bearing fruit that looked like yellow stars, called 'Paopu Fruit'. Karin knew which world she was at and on. It was the world where Sora came from: Destiny Island.

"Destiny Island...Sora's home...And Riku's, too...I wonder how Lorena is doing..-" "Are you okay?" a child voice asked, interupting Karin's sentence to herself. She turns around to see a small boy with light brown short hair dressed in orange shorts and white shirt with a picture image of a Paopu Fruit on the front. A small girl with short hair that was a mixture of red and brown arrives to the scene dressed in a light blue dress and red sandals on her feet.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked again. The girl went to him and said, "Mom told us not to talk to strangers, Kori!"

"I was worried, Sari.." groaned the boy, named 'Kori'. Karin stopped the two for a second, "I'm not a mean person...Are you two brother and sister?"

"We are...Your the one that hurted Dad...Didn't you?" asked Sari. Karin was confused, "Dad?"

"With a key sword...You hurted our daddy!" cried Sari. 'Key...Sword...She meant 'Keyblade'..Oh, no...Is it Sora?' thought Karin. As if on cue, a dark, red haired woman in a pinkish zip-based dress that had a white shirt underneath. Her shoes were white with pink, including black laces that was tied to her ankles. From her games, Karin knew who it was. It was the third inhabitant, other than Sora and Riku, from Destiny Island: Kairi. She approaches Karin and had an angry look on her face and blue eyes, just like Sora's. She slaps Karin across the face, showing her anger, woman to woman.

"How dare you hurt my husband! I hope he doesn't show any mercy on your soul.." growled Kairi. Karin was confused, but knew somehow it was going to happen.

"Husband? Is he a shape-shifter that wields a 'Keyblade'? Deity of Kingdom Hearts? Sora?" asked Karin. "That's who I was talking about earlier...What is your reason of hurting Sora?" Kairi answered. Karin was in total shock. Sora's wife is Kairi, and Kairi's husband is Sora. From her games. Riku, Sora, and Kairi are best friends. It would be a good possibility, because Sora risked everything to save the both of them and bring them back to the islands, especially Kairi. Karin fills Kairi in of the scenario. Kairi understood.

"I see...It seems you struck a deal with Sora, as well as your friend struck a deal with Riku. Do you know Riku is the deity from darkness?" asked Kairi.

"Yeah...I saw him earlier with Sora. Those two...Are they your children?" Karin asked, as soon as she answers. "They are...Kori has some of Sora's features when Sora himself was that young," answered Kairi. Karin nodded. Lorena continues to attack Xehanort, but which each time she tried to attack Xehanort, he would say, 'Come Guardian!' and the Guardian Heartless would block the attacks. Worse is when the Guardian posses Lorena, but she found a good way to counter it. After casting Thundaga and Blizzaga combined, she defeats the Heartless and soon the final confrontation is at hand.

"Go back to the dark, Xehanort!" said Lorena. Xehanort falls into a dark portal, but he really letted himself be defeated, just buying his leader, Riku, time. As soon as Lorena took a step forward, the tower shook with fury and a animal, dragonic roar was then heard below.

"What the? Gahhh!" Lorena panicked. The flooring turned pitch black and began to sink Lorena into it. She tried to fight, but it was futile. Everything went black for Lorena, and soon what she wakes up to next will give her nightmares beyond human comprehension. Lorena begins to stir, then saw something rise from the poisonous moat water. It appeared as a tail, but it showed it was also something else. The tail end began to pulse in pulsations, as if trying to bring something inside it up and out. The end of the purple and red stripped black tail widened and opened near the platform, releasing a Heartless within it.

'What the..?...' Lorena gasped mentally. The Heartless was a Shadow and it scampered away from the tail. A low, feral growl was then heard behind Lorena. She instantly turns around and comes face to face where the tail came from. A long, serpentine creature was hooked to the wall like a queen, immobile, hanging on the wall with dark red vessel-like tubes and dark, organic webbings attached to its back. It had a reptilian appearance, but its head and shoulders looked very similar from that one boss connected to a ship from a game Lorena played.

The creature had a total of eight, pitch black skinned arms with bright red claws. It also had six, bat-webbed wings of demonic sorts of dragonic nature. Some of the webbings and vessel-like tubes were attached to the lower, serpentine body, which appeared swollen for reproductive purposes. Four of its arms were covering its face, two were wrapped around its humanoid torso waist, and the last remaining set was placed near the hips area of its upper humanoid body. Raspy, loud breathing was heard underneath its four arms covering its face and upper torso.

'Whoa...What kind of Heartless is this?..Is it a queen?' thought Lorena. The raspy, loud breathing continued, but the creature's four arms covering its head moved downward, revealing its face and yellow, lunar eyes.

"My child...Now my metamorphosis is complete...And now the test of fate is at hand. Do you not recognize me, young Lorena? You saw me earlier before I fell into the abyss...Remember..." the creature said. Lorena thought for a minute, then a shocking truth slaps her in the face.

"No...Riku? No...Is that...You?" asked Lorena. "Yesss...It is me...Do you remember? Where do you think all the Heartlesses came from..In this form, they all came from me! But human..Its impossible. What do you think of my true self? A visage worth a thousand nightmares...," said the true form of Riku. Lorena took a few steps back in shock, trying to process the info she gained. She knew that in his human form, there was no way Riku can create new Heartlesses like this, but by stealing hearts. It was all different in Riku's true form; it was possible, and the vast source was revealed before Lorena. The tail then wrapped around Lorena's waist and lifts her to the creature's face.

"Your light..Is no more. It has long since faded from you the first time you stepped forth into my world. You belong here now..In darkness," said Riku, continuing to wrap his tail around her, "Welcome to your new home...Lorena."

'No...This is not my home! But my light...Is gone...Its all over..' thought Lorena, finally submitting to defeat. As the deity's tail unwraps from Lorena, something hidden in her shirt tickled her skin. Lorena searches in the confines, then pulls out a golden feather. This was a feather from Boko, and soon her memories of before the final battle with Bartz flashed before her inside her mind.

'...Boko wanted to give you something...You could use all the luck you can get,' one of the memories said. In that memory, Lorena first received a feather from Boko. Lorena picks up her sword and by instinct stabs into the tail end, through and through. the deity shrieked.

"Grah! Why are you doing this? You belong here with us now..." shrieked the Heartless lord. "No! I don't belong here. This is a world of darkness. The End of the World. In order to take out the Heartlesses..I have to take out their source. Thanks for helping out on that one, Riku...Your it!" said Lorena.

"New deal...If you can defeat me now...I will return all my Heartlesses up from the Orders Sanctuary and release you from here...If I win...You will stay in this world forever...With our company," the deity spoke with quick thought. Lorena obliged and attacks at the creature's upper body, but Riku's now more advanced Dark Shield blocked the attacks completely.

'Dang! The shielding is stronger than earlier...Great..Hm?' thought Lorena. She remembers the tail and how it spawned the Shadow Heartless. A hunch was beginning to form. Karin walks around the shoreline of Destiny Island, walking along to the back of the main island, As she arrives; Karin spots a type of spike-based rock formation in a circle, rising from the water. Kairi arrives to the scene.

"You should be going there...He's waiting..." Kairi said to Karin. Karin nods and runs into the water, swimming in the depths to the isle ahead. She got closer to the isle of sharp rock, but as soon as she was about halfway there, Karin spots something swimming under her in the water. Something 'Big'.

'What the?...What is that? A whale?' wondered Karin as she got closer to the isle. The giant sized shadow in the depths of the water was quicker than Karin and makes it first to the isle from underneath. Karin arrives at the isle and arrives in the middle, realizing that there were stone platforms made from the structure's own stone texture, wide enough for someone to walk, move, dodge, and run. The stairs near the structure lead to the top of the whole walkway.

'Whoa...Was this done by magic? Or by hand?..' thought Karin in wonder. She continues to investigate the walkway, til she came across a large engraving of a crown; like the centerpiece of Sora's necklace. Karin walks all the way around the platform, seeing engravings of the Heartless insignia, the insignia of the Nobodies, and last it a heart design with a crown on top of it.

'Something doesn't feel right...As if..Something is here and...' thought Karin. Her thought was soon interrupted by a sudden tremor, rocking the platform and isle from the sea below. Karin instantly fell to the ground, trying to brace herself. As the tremor subsided, she got back up, but soon a gigantic gush of water sprays upwards from the center like a geyser, knocking Karin back to the ground, but this time it was right on her back.

"Wahhh!" screamed Karin as she fell onto her back. Dazed, but still alert, she then peers up to see what had surfaced from the water, but what she saw next startled and shocked Karin in one sitting. A giant merman was situated in the center of the isle in the water, but somehow this merman looked awfully familiar in many ways. Yellow stripes ran around the lower dolphin-fish body to the fin, and the upper, human body had tribal markings on it as well, but on the chest area was a design of the same heart design as the engraving.

The shoulders had the Heartless insignia on the top of the shoulder blades. Its back had a large design of the Nobody insignia, and to its head, there was a crown marking on its forehead, while on each cheek was a keyhole design. When Karin looks up to its face, she knew who it was: It was Sora, but more different. What was even worse is that Sora is now armed with four Keyblades, not one, or two.

The merman slid out of the water onto land, slthering towards Karin as she backed away from it. "Does my appearence...Look familiar too you...?" the merman asked, as if it was like a true deity. Karin somehow knew who the merman was.

"Sora?..." asked Karin. The merman smiled, "This...Is my true self. Those that see it, don't survive to tell what it looks like...Because at the end, they are sent to darkness..." Karin gulped, but then noticed Kairi and the two children with her approaching the scene with no fear.

"Kairi! Wait!" Karin called out. "I'm not afraid...We've seen this form before. He would never hurt me, nor our children. Sora isn't like that at all..." Kairi said, telling Karin he wouldn't harm her. This fact was then backed up when he lowered himself to their level and then Kori and Sari runs to him, hugging his human, upper body.

"Daddy! Your alright!" cheered the children. "I knew you would be...Like always," said Kori. Sora hugs both of the children, then turns his attention to Kairi. She slowly walks to Sora, looking up into his eyes. He returns the gaze to Kairi. He then wraps his fish lower body around Kairi and leans to her. In front of Karin, the two embrace in passion. Karin awed at the scene, but it soon ends when Sora turns to Karin.

"...Finish it..." whispered Kairi. Sora nods in response and the three near him leave to a safe location, watching the final fight unfold.

"Kairi's angry at me. Because I hurted you. She even slapped me across the face," said Karin. Sora then rises from the ground, preparing for the final battle. He slithers back to the water and stays there, arming himself with two Keyblades at first. Karin rushes at the merman and begins to swing her sword to do some serious damage. Sora anticipated this.

"Have you learned yet?..Remember...The best offense, is the best defense...Aeroga!" said Sora, casting a wind-based shield to block all of the attacks. Karin was knocked back, but was determined to pierce the defense.

'Gah...Aeroga...Such a defense...' Karin fumed in her mind, getting back up. "I still have an advantage!" said Karin. She knew that Sora as a merman can't even move on land, but only move in water. Karin tried to lure him out of the water as best as she could. The Aeroga spell then wore off and Karin leaped forward and assaulted the Light Deity's head, causing damage as he tried to swing her off. Karin continued to hold onto Sora's spikey hair and continue to dealt some damage on his head. What Sora did next defied all explanation. As if swimming through the air, he flies around with levitation, trying to use wind to get Karin off. She lost her grip and fell to the ground.

"No way!" screamed Karin. 'Well...There goes my merman out of water theory...' Karin then thought. Sora pointed one of the Keyblade's tip to the sky, then said, "Thundaga!" A set of powerful lightning strikes arched down at Karin, who had to dodge it by running. Karin has seen this spell before, it was used against Chaos, just to show him his place against Sora. Each arch of powerful electricity caused cracks on the stone platform, but it still held. Karin successfully dodges it, but the worst was yet to come. Lorena continues to attack the giant queen against all odds, and in the process slaying the freshly emerged Heartlesses at once

'There's so many! I know I'm doing some damage on Riku, but its not enough...The Heartlesses just keep coming..Huh..Wait a minute..' Lorena thought. She then sees the lower body, swollen and enlarged with new Heartlesses, then turns to the newly risen tail, pulsating a new Heartless to emerge. Lorena came up with a radical, but worth the risk idea.

'Of course...I gotta aim at the lower body. I have to disable this thing from birthing more Heartlesses for good,' thought Lorena. she then dispatches the Heartlesses near her, from 'Soldier' Heartlesses, 'Lance soldier' Heartlesses, to 'Air Pirate' Heartlesses. As soon as almost all of them are defeated, Lorena aims her Firaga and Bilzzaga spells at the underbelly shown, causing damage.

"Shhhhhrrreeeeeeeeiiiiii! Shhhrrrrraaahhh!" the Heartless lord shriek, becoming damaged by Lorena's spells. As the beast was distracted, Lorena attacks the tail and further damages it, causing more extensive damage. Her victory was rewarded. After attacking both tail and lower body, Riku was now disabled from making more Heartlesses.

"Grahhh!...Greeeeegggghhh!" roared the Heartless lord. It begins to shrink its lower body like a huge anaconda, and tear itself from the wall. It pulled and struggled, causing the tubes to rip off, causing nutrient-based fluids to spill out. The webbings also tore off. Riku outstretches his six wings and takes flight, prepared to take Lorena to the darkness.

"Child! I will not forgive you! You destroyed me...I will bring you to darkness, if I have to die to do so!" roared Riku, flying towards Lorena. She prepares by running towards him, then slashing her sword against his clawed hands, slashing back with his claws. Riku breathed out a black, poisonous fume at Lorena, causing the stream of spray to turn pitch black with darkness and fade away a few minutes later.

"No you don't! I will not fall! Someone's waiting for me!" said Lorena, fueling herself further with determination. After causing some more damage, Riku flies to the top of the tower, bringing Lorena with him with his tail. She arrives at the top, preparing for a sneak attack by any means. The dark deity flies near the tower, trying to snap his jaws at her and harm her with his fangs. Lorena dodges all of the attacks, but the worst was coming. Riku then opens his mouth and charges for a hyper beam attack of dark energy. Lorena was not going to dodge it, but maybe try to reflect it back.

'Reflect...Is one of Sora's spells...I wonder if I can do that...There's only one way to find out. Here it comes!' thought Lorena. The charging was finished and Riku soon fires the beam at Lorena, but she has a trick that Riku is not going to anticipate.

"To defeat an enemy...You must use their own weapon, or attack against them like a mime...Reflect!" Lorena calls out, for the first time casting Reflect. The beam bounces back and nails Riku through the torso, causing too much damage on the deity's now fragile body. He flies into the air in a berserk phase and tries to ram Lorena. She then spots a Keyblade on the ground. The Keyblade had a sharp, key-like end that can be used on people's hearts by taking them, or unlocking something in one's heart.

'Riku...I will release you from your madness..' thought Lorena, taking hold of the Keyblade. The giant Heartless lord above was plotting a crash course with Lorena below, but she now has the power to end it for good in one hit.

"I will free you from your lament of Destiny Island! Its time to move on!" said Lorena, throwing the weapon upward at Riku like a spear. It flies at its mark and pierces his heart, causing the dark energy to crackle inside.

"Grrrrraaaaggghhh! My heart! Is...Healing!" roared the creature. The creature exploded into sharpnels of rock, revealing the human Riku underneath. He fell from the sky and onto the platform. Riku was emitting a type of dark aura that crackled from his body, as if he was going to fade away in defeat. Lorena fell to the ground in exhaustion, but enough to face Riku.

"Before...I send the Heartlesses back here...Accordance to our agreement. Tell...Sora..I'm sorry for killing Destiny Island..It was my ill-will heart of jealousy that brought them there..I wanted to be like Sora..But...Tell him..I'm sorry...Farewell..." Riku said as a message, then faded away.

'I will...' thought Lorena. Back in Cosmos's sanctuary, the Heartless forces began to fade away, as if returning back to their world.

"Look! The Heartlesses are leaving! Lorena must've defeated Riku," the Onion Knight shouted. The Heartless had all returned to their dark world, never to return again, unless needed. Lorena stays where she is, til someone grabs her and lifts her up. Xehanort lifts Lorena to her feet, then he said, "Riku just informed me to take you home. Your free and you don't belong here anymore...Let's go." It seems she won Xehanort's respect. Back at Destiny Island, Karin tangles with the airborne Sora.

'Gah...For a merman, he sure can fly!' thought Karin as sge took her magic spells against Sora, hitting him with Firaga.

"Allow me to show you my Firaga..." said Sora. He then casts a more powerful Firaga at Karin, but she reflects it back with Reflect, but Sora manuvers around it, like a snake.

"Grrr..He's good.." fumed Karin. She tries hard to attack Sora, but he casts Aeroga every time she attacks. Karin was about to give up, til she touches her head and forgot she was wearing Firion's bandana. This fueled her resolve to win.

"I will win..If I have to die trying! I promised to return home, and I will keep that promise til the end! I won't allow you to stand in my way, even if you are a deity!" said Karin, vowing to herself. "Such determination. We have something in common, the determination to survive and to push ourselves to our goals," said Sora in amazment. Karin fights harder than before, trying to pierce through Sora's Aeroga shield. Karin still pressed on, til she finally breaks it. Is this by luck, by the will to survive, or the determination to win and return home to Firion alive and in one piece?

Karin continued to fight Sora with everything she had in her, and putting as much damage as possible. Sora was taking many hits. Knocking all of the Keyblades out of Sora's hands two at a time, Karin finishes it with a volley of Comet, Blizzaga, Firaga, and Thundaga to finish the battle, and Sora has lost...To a human with Lunarian blood. Sora falls to the ground, landing on his back as he returned to his human form.

"Karin...I must admit, your will to live is far beyond my beliefs of you..I underestimated you, and when we fight again, it won't happen again. As accordance to our deal...All the homes of your friends is spared. I didn't want any of your poison to reach the world I worked so hard to protect...That is all..." said Sora, admitting his flaw. Karin falls to the ground in exhaustion, but soon Organization XIII arrives, along with another girl that had a resemblance to Kairi. She wore a white sleeveless dress and sandals. She had silver, neck length hair, and blue eyes. Karin knew who it was. It was Kairi's Nobody, Namine. Roxas was right next to her.

'Oh, no...They're coming to kill me..Because I hurted Sora..' thought Karin. The opposite happened. They stared with worry. Karin was puzzled.

"Axel...Roxas...Help her back home...Where she belongs, this is our last task.." said Sora. Axel and Roxas nodded and helped Karin up, taking her through one last portal, all the way back to where she should be. At home.


	26. Chapter 25 Epilogue

Chapter 25: Epilogue

**'The long struggle has come to an end. Humanity and its many splendors are spared from eternal damnation of darkness.**

**The heroines are returning home with victorious smiles, and the warring quest coming to its final close in eternal peace...'**

In the path to the sanctuary of Cosmos, Karin slumps forward, being held by both Roxas and Axel of Organization XIII. "Why are you guys doing this? I hurted Sora...You guys are like loyal bodyguards..." questioned Karin.

"True...But we are too loyal to him, despite me being his nobody. I guess we underestimated you as well," answered Roxas. Axel agrees, "You saw Namine earlier..Did you?" Karin was confused, but answered.

"Yeah...Why?" asked Karin. "Well...Since both Sora and Kairi are married..So are their nobodies..Did that give you any hints?" answered Axel, being sly and cocky in his usual way. Karin thought for a minute, then was in total shock.

"You mean Roxas and Namine are...Oh, my god..." said Karin. Roxas began to blush, but it was a light red, not lobster red. In their own path to Order's Sanctuary, Xehanort, his guardian, and Lorena make their way slowly, but worth it. "I know about both you and Xemnas...You two used to been one person, but darkness splitted you apart. Your Xehanort's heartless, while his nobody, with the name 'Xemnas' became a nobody and started the whole darkness thing...If only you listened to Ansem, that wouldn't have happened," Lorena lectured Xehanort's heartless.

"Its true..Maybe I should've..But its too late to change that. What happened, happened. Don't waist anymore of your strength you have left...You'll need it.." answered Xehanort's heartless. Everyone in the sanctum of Cosmos were standing in wait, hoping Lorena and Karin are alright. Bartz held onto his feather charm, praying that Lorena would be alright. The Chocobos prayed as well, til two portals were formed.

"Kid...Is it them?" asked Jecht. Tidus didn't answer, but watched. At one of them, Karin, Roxas, and Axel emerge, walking towards the group. At the second, Xehanort's heartless emerges with Lorena, with the guardian behind him, walking towards the group. An ecstatic smile was shown on Tidus's face.

"Guys! They're alive! They made it!" Tidus called out. Bartz was ecstatic as well, and the Chocobo chicks rush to Karin, including Firion and Cecil. "They did it!" cheered Garnet.

"I thought there was no way to defeat Sora, or Riku...How'd they beat them?" asked Zell in confusion. "Determination...That's what conquered the mighty deities of Light and Dark...A strong force indeed," answered Shanttoto. Bartz, Boko, and Koko rush to Lorena, who then falls into Bartz's arms.

"Bartz...I'm home...Oh, god..." sighed Lorena. Koko nuzzles Lorena and gives her a 'Chocobo' hug as a way of saying 'Welcome back'. "Oh, Koko..I'm back...I'm back...I thought I was going to be lost in darkness, but this guided the way," Lorena said, bringing out the feather she kept from Boko.

"I knew it would...Its like I always say, 'When I get into trouble..My feather charm always gets me out safely..'," said Bartz, looking into Lorena's eyes, "Welcome back..." The two then embraced in a passionate kiss, causing everyone near watching the scene to go 'Awwwww..' but soon Jecht yells out, "There's my son and Yuna! Right there!" Tidus blushes and turns to Jecht.

"Hey! That's it! Come here!" yelled Tidus, running after his father. "Come get me if you can, kid!" yelled Jecht. Karin falls into Firion's arms, cuddling up to him in happiness.

"I'm home...I came back..." sighed Karin. Firion smiled in response. Cecil, however was crying in happiness. As everyone was celebrating, they also watched Axel, Roxas, and Xehanort return through the portals, returning back to where they rightfully belong.

"I guess they're returning back..Their job is done...Now what.?" asked Lorena. "We must return as well to where we belong..Home," said the Warrior of Light. Karin became upset, then said, "I'm not leaving Firion! Its like ripping my heart out!"

"I'm not leaving Bartz!" screamed Lorena. The knight began to giggle, then said, "Your not going to leave them. Your going with them. I would rather rip my own heart out then split two couples apart.." Karin and Lorena began to lighten up. Karin was going to Fynn with Firion, while Lorena will wonder the world with Bartz and the Chocobo family.

"Kid..." said Jecht. "I guess..I don't have to return to the ruins...I'm sorry, dad, but I'm going back to the Besaid Islands with Yuna. You can come with us..." said Tidus.

"Tidus...Zanarkand is our home..We can't abandon it like this," said Jecht. He knew Tidus had already made up his mind, so then he answered, "I see..I guess I can't change your mind, huh? Count me in.."

"Don't forget me.." said Auron. "We ain't going to forget about you...How could I?" said Tidus. Shuyin walks away from the scene, saddened by all the others with their one true love. His thoughts turned to a love of his own, who was still in the Farplane. Tidus sensed this remorse, but has a big surprise for him.

"Yuna..Go get her..." he whispered to Yuna. She knew what Tidus was talking about and did as she was told. "While we were waiting..I took a trip to the Farplane and brought her back to this world. Shuyin has suffered enough, so its time to make him happy again," Tidus explained. Shuyin slumps near a pillar and cries, til a familiar female voice spoke to him, bringing him back out of lament.

"Shuyin...Shuyin...Don't cry anymore, I'm alive again, thanks to Tidus.." she said to Shuyin. He looks up and before she spoke again, Shuyin hugs her, holding the love of his life in his arms.

"Lenne! Your alive again!" cheered Shuyin. The two then embraced. "Aww...That's love right there.." said Jecht. Seymour sat alone, fiddling with his staff. "Well...At least everything is normal now. No more repeats, no more Shinryu...no worries," said Seymour. Everyone prepared to go their separate ways, til Sora all of a sudden appeared, along with Kairi and the two children.

"Who's that woman right next to Sora?" asked Cloud. "That's his wife, Kairi. The children are their own," answered Karin. "They're married? And they started a family?" asked Squall. Kori spots Boko and runs to him, petting him in an instant.

"This is a big bird! Mom! Dad! I found a big bird!" cried Kori. Sari arrives, too, petting the chicks carefully. "Its called a 'Chocobo'..Chocobos are big birds. This one is named 'Boko'," answered Sora. Kori then petted Boko some more, til Boko started nuzzling the child, causing the boy to giggle.

"How come Boko's got a saddle?" asked Sari. Bartz answered her, "Because I ride on Boko. We're traveling buddies and best friends." Sari understood. Kairi approaches Koko and pets her, as respect between two women of different species.

"Is this Chocobo male or female?" asked Kairi. "That one's a girl. Her name is 'Koko' and she is Boko's wife. They have alittle family right here," said Bartz, pointing at the chicks near him roaming about.

"Oh...Hi, Koko...I bet your a busy mother, huh?" said Kairi. Koko coos and nuzzles Kairi. "Sora...Why are you here?" asked Firion. "The boundaries between your worlds and homes are now connected to one another, now you can visit one another in different locations, but know this...Your worlds are connected to Kingdom Hearts as well. If that falls, we all fall," said Sora, explaining his reason of arriving.

"Oh! Riku wanted to give you a message. He said to tell you, 'I'm sorry for killing Destiny Island. It was my ill-will heart of jealousy that brought them there..I wanted to be like Sora..But...Tell him..I'm sorry..' That's what Riku said," Lorena spoke, remembering Riku's message.

"I understand now...Riku has been through alot..I get the whole picture now," Sora said. Everyone then said their farewells and returned to their respective home. Terra, however; went with the Onion Knight to the Floating Continent, his home. The war was finally done, and peace has begun to blossom the world, just like a field of Wild Roses.

[EPILOGUES]

*Final Fantasy I*

-Warrior of Light-

The Warrior of Light returns to Cornelia. Upon his return, the knight asks the original king of Cornelia's daughter, Princess Sarah's hand in marriage. The king knew this day would come and accepts the offer. Now becoming the new king of Cornelia, the Warrior of Light risked everything to protect his new kingdom. After one year of returning, he and Sarah were blessed with triplets, named 'Rowan', 'Deliah', and 'Tristin'.

-Garland-

The evil knight, Garland roams the continent, but never shows himself to Cornelia. Now living in a disgraced, nomad existence, Garland rarely attempts to attack Cornelia, due to the Warrior of Light's threat. He still is chained to Fate's will, like always before.

*Final Fantasy II*

-Firion and Karin-

Upon returning to Fynn, the two marry and aid the resistance group under the word 'Wild Roses' to suppress the Emperor's growing power and greed. After ten months, the couple were blessed by the arrival of twins, a boy and a girl named 'Ronan' and 'Gracie'.

-Emperor Mateus-

His lust for power is still the same, but was half diminished by the war's end effect of healing. Still conquering lands, Mateus and the 'Wild Roses' still bash heads, but otherwise focuses on other things...

*Final Fantasy III*

-Onion Knight-

After upon returning to his village of Ur, the boy with a legendary title 'Onion Knight' is made the new village elder after Topapa, accordance of his will. He is the youngest elder in the history of Ur and the entire Floating Continent. As a war hero, the Onion Knight puts everyone elses' safety first, protecting all he cherishes. With Terra by his side, the continent has become more safer than before. After a year upon becoming elder, the two are blessed with a daughter, named 'Luna'.

-Cloud of Darkness-

The entity of the Void has rarely attack the continent, but has returned to the void to be alongside Exdeath. Together, they rule the non-existence realm and plan to harness its power, just how Exdeath had done before. The plans seem to fail at times, but still they are stubborn to go down. She still roams the World of Darkness, as the Onion Knight always predicted.

*Final Fantasy IV*

-Cecil Harvey-

After Karin's mother's death by the hands of Garland, Cecil has returned to Baron and tried his very best to move on, but is proving difficult. With the aid of his wise, older brother, Golbez, Cecil has made a good recovery. He has met a woman from Baron who shares the same pain as he did, named 'Rosa' and together they marry after a couple years of dating. They are awaiting the arrival of a baby boy, who they will name, 'Lumar'.

-Golbez-

Even though he still believes he is still on the path of darkness, Golbez tries to get his life together and forget the past as his younger brother, Cecil, had advised. He still believes he can't be trusted, but he dedicates himself everyday to rebuild his life and for the first time since the Dissidia Wars, to stand by his brother, just how it should've been long ago.

*Final Fantasy V*

-Bartz and Lorena Klauser-

Both Lorena and Bartz travel the world together as a traveling couple on their Chocobos: Koko and Boko. After the war shortly afterwards the two marry in a field of Chocobos, then settled down a bit in Bartz's hometown of Lix. After a year passes since the war, the two have a daughter named, 'Eva', then a couple years later a son named especially after Bartz's father.

-Boko and Koko-

The two Chocobos are enjoying their time together with their children and their traveling buddies: Bartz and Lorena. Over the years they continue to add to the family, after their chicks are fully grown.

-Exdeath-

Plots on gaining the power of the void and swallow all things with it. Allied with the Cloud of Darkness, the two plot to do the exact same thing like the other. Both Exdeath and Cloud of Darkness live in the void, a realm of nothingness they suit the most.

*Final Fantasy VI*

-Terra Branford-

She lives with the new Ur elder, the Onion Knight, on the Floating Continent. Terra does visit her home, but returns to the Onion Knight at Ur. She aids as adviser and for the efforts for peace on the Floating Continent. Together they have a daughter named 'Luna' a year after the Onion Knight becomes the village elder.

-Kefka Palazzo-

Kefka continues to cause havoc against Terra and her friends. It seems nothing has changed for Kefka.

*Final Fantasy VII*

-Cloud Strife and Company-

Barret, Cid, Reno, Rude, Yuffie, Vincent, Tifa, and Cloud return to their daily lives. What has changed for the group is the value of life and the importance of second chances, but Cloud is having a tough time at it. Both Tifa and Cloud live in the city of Midgar, running a jack-of-all trades together. At this point they are planning to start a family.

-Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, and Vivian-

Sephiroth continues his assault on the planet, but rarely attacks now because of his devotion to his new bride, Vivian. Now the both of them attack the planet, and the remnants follow to each battle against Cloud. After a year upon returning, the two were blessed with twins, named, 'Gabriel' and 'Sophie'.

*Final Fantasy VIII*

-Squall Leonhart and Company-

Everyone returns to their normal routines after returning. Laguna returns to his routine as a President and bids farewell to his son, Squall. Now living near Balamb Garden, Squall and Riona are starting a new life together and adjusts well to Squall's military-based responsibilities, but changed in personality. Squall begins to fully open up and it takes time for change. They are planning to start a family at this point.

-Ultimecia and Seifer-

The sorceress and her bodyguard continue their plans for Time Compression. Seifer reunites with Raijin and Fujin, and start where the three left off. Ultimecia will not stop til her 'Time Compression' is complete and successful, no matter how many sorceresses she possess.

*Final Fantasy IX*

-Zidane Tribal and Company-

After returning to Lindblum, the group go on their ways, but remained connected no matter the distance. Zidane and Garnet reside back at Alexandros Castle as a bodyguard alongside Steiner, and Zidane's Genome brother Kuja. At this point the two are planning to start a family.

-Kuja-

After healing from the words of the Zanarkand deity, Kuja has left behind the destructive nature he had long before and moved on. He now stays with Zidane and aids the Tantalus and acts as a bodyguard to Garnet. He's determined to turn his life around. He's now a performer working with the Tantalus, to get into touch of his performer-side.

*Final Fantasy X and X-2*

-Tidus and Company-

After returning to the Besaid Islands, everyone prepares a wedding for Yuna and Tidus. Despite being the deity, Bahamugena, Tidus quickly adjusts and devotes his time to Yuna and make her as happy as possible. Tidus now has his hands full on being a coach to the new Besaid Aurochs, married life, and training with his father, Jecht, and his mentor, Auron. After a year upon returning, Tidus and Yuna welcome the arrival of a son, who Tidus names after Wakka's brother.

-Seymour Guado, Shuyin and Lenne-

At the same time Tidus and Yuna are wedded, Shuyin and Lenne marry with the aid of Seymour Guado. Seymour has become Besaid's wandering Maester of Yevon, disgraced of his position. Shuyin always welcomes the Maester's company. Just after eleven months after the wedding, Shuyin and Lenne welcome the arrival of a daughter, who they named, 'Kora'.

-Jecht-

The same old Jecht has many things to be doing. During the war of Dissidia, he listens to Tidus's words from a telepathic connection in a dream of the reason they fight and why there's a tension between them. Jecht has now reformed himself, and adjusts to being a destructive deity, Sin. Despite being mean and tough on the outside, Jecht has proven to be a gentle-hearted man in time.

*Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII*

-Shanttoto-

Still devoted to Cosmos, Shanttoto returns to the Federation of Windurst as both an advisor to Cosmos and war hero of Windurst. Now trying to gain the peace the warriors of Cosmos had fought for in the Federation, Shanttoto uses her unrivaled magic to fight evil. To this day, she still regrets not marrying.

-Gabranth-

Returning to his duty as Judge Magister of his empire, Gabranth still regrets his past of not saving his home. Even though he is on no one's side, he only chooses the one group that suits him. His anger towards his older brother lead him to Chaos. Despite being cruel at times, but in time, Gabranth slowly shows his nicer side, still trying to move on from the past. To this day, he is still recovering slowly but surely.

*Kingdom Hearts series*

-Sora and Kairi-

Even though he was defeated by Karin, Sora quickly recovers and continues where he left off. Each and everyday, Sora, Kairi, and their two children play on the shorelines of Destiny Island. Riku returns to the islands occasionally from darkness and visits the family. After a year passes, the family welcomes a new addition to the family: a baby girl they name, 'Aurora', after a princess Sora knows.

-Riku-

Still residing at End of the World, Riku is quickly recovering from his defeat by Lorena. He takes time to visit his world of Destiny Island and spars with Sora when he gets a chance to. He still is coming to grips with the past of drawing the heartless to the island. To this day, Riku is slowly moving on from his past and searching for a certain girl to spend the rest of his life with, despite being a deity.

-Organization XIII and Namine-

The Organization is busy doing what nobodies do. Their routine made by Sora is to monitor the worlds connected to Kingdom Hearts for any trouble. They have dedicated themselves to make sure the balance is not broken. To all the other twelve members' surprise, after just one year from returning; Roxas and Namine are blessed by the arrival of a baby girl, named 'Xia'.

-Xehanort and Guardian-

Xehanort is still coming to terms of his decision of betraying Ansem the Wise. Even though he is a heartless, he slowly overcomes the past in time. Now fully devoted to protect Riku and the world of the heartlesses, he and his guardian to this day continue to fight with no limits, showing the enemy that they were doomed to fade to darkness from the very beginning.

**{The Messenger by Your Favorite Enemies}**

**The Messenger is standing at, standing at the gate  
Ready to let go, ready for the crush, the Messenger  
Too late for whispers, too late for the blush  
The past is Mercy when the future's glow (wont you let it go)**

**Kneeling journey dressed in a cloak of shadows  
The hunting's grim for the innocent eyes  
Communion's prey is a cup of sorrows  
But faith is colours for the humbling cries**

**The Spirit is over town, waiting for me to hit the floor  
Blooming white sky for the voice of one calling tonight  
Tonight fate is the red crown, the red crown around your door  
Time is scattering the seeds of the mourning daylight**

**The avenger is roaming through, roaming through the land  
Ready for the clash, for the lasting gash, the avenger  
Mothers kissing sons with a staff in hands  
The bride is shining when the groom is gold (wont you let it go)**

**Shouting worship choked in a wave of silver  
The offering's grief for Deceiver's pride,  
Salvation man is a cup of fire  
But hope is the star on a morning tide**

**The Spirit is over town, waiting for me to hit the floor  
Blooming white sky for the voice of one calling tonight  
Tonight fate is the red crown, the red crown around your door  
Time is scattering the seeds of the mourning daylight**

**The Pilgrims are gathering and the marching band, the marching band's howling  
Compassion is the flag a righteous man, a righteous man will hold  
The Pilgrims are gathering and the marching band, the marching band's howling  
Compassion is the flag a righteous man, a righteous man will hold**

**The Spirit is over town, waiting for me to hit the floor  
Blooming white sky for the voice of one calling tonight  
Tonight fate is the red crown, the red crown around your door  
Time is scattering the seeds of the mourning daylight**


End file.
